Florida-based Empath Health has launched a new dementia program that combines provider and caregiver education with clinical care.
The nonprofit will provide training to staff from other health care organizations, first responders and family caregivers, as well as providing clinical services via the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s (CMMI) Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model, according to Valerie Valiante, vice president for PACE & Dementia Services at Empath.
“The bulk of the program is educational, and the [registered nurse] educators are specialized and certified as dementia providers, and so they provide one-on-one support, educational sessions, caregiver workshops and support groups,” Valiante told Hospice News. “We provide virtual dementia tour experiences and memory cafes, and all of those things are free and supportive in nature, and also educational.”
Empath Health annually serves more than 100,000 individuals and provides care to one-in-five hospice patients statewide, according to the organization. The nonprofit’s network of programs includes Empath Hospice, Hospice of Marion County, Suncoast Hospice, Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough, Tidewell Hospice and Trustbridge Hospice.
Empath Health’s “Full Life Care” services include hospice, home health, palliative care, grief support and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), as well as HIV/STI prevention.
The organization’s own staff will also undergo dementia care training, Valiante said. Education for first responders is also a key component.
“First responders encounter people living with dementia in the community during stressful situations or confusing situations, and so the goal of that training is to assist with recognition and de-escalation skills, which have proven to be really valuable,” Valiante said. “We would do that for firefighters, for EMS staff, really any professional staff who are working in the community that may encounter a person living with dementia in in a crisis would have access to our training programs.”
One of the most important aspects of the training is a virtual dementia tour.
The tour is an immersive, hands-on simulation that uses specialized equipment — including vision-obscuring glasses, sensory-disrupting headphones and tactile-inhibiting gloves — to help caregivers and community members experience the challenges of dementia symptoms firsthand.
“The virtual dementia tour is one of our most impactful experiences,” Valiante said. “That’s designed to help people better understand the physical and cognitive challenges that can be associated with dementia, and so it’s basically an empathetic experience that helps families or community members understand what it feels like to experience symptoms of dementia.”
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