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Lakeland expands dementia training after LeadingAge grant, offers virtual experience to students
Summary
Lakeland Healthcare received a grant tied to a LeadingAge dementia care assessment and provided focused staff training from Dementia Care Solutions; staff plan outreach training and continued dementia-focused renovations.
Lakeland Healthcare Center said it used a LeadingAge dementia care assessment and an associated grant to expand dementia-specific staff training and resident-facing programs, Mel Davis, director of social services, told the Board of Trustees on April 23.
“Within a certain amount of time, they offered a grant...we did receive the grant,” Davis said, describing the assessment and the resulting free training. Dementia Care Solutions provided on-site training in April, and facility leaders said the training was required for staff hired on or after Nov. 1, 2024.
Why it matters: trustees were told the steps are meant to strengthen individualized, dementia-centered care and to inform renovation choices that improve safety and navigation for residents with cognitive impairment.
Training and programs: Davis said the facility scored as a “dementia specific community” on the assessment and that the grant-funded work included staff training and expanded use of the virtual dementia experience for nursing students and other trainees. The facility’s nurse mentor trainer, Julie Burchinger, and Davis are certified as dementia specialists for challenging behaviors and plan to offer training outside the facility.
Dementia-care design changes: trustees heard that assessment recommendations influenced renovation design — for example, contrasting colors, avoiding busy patterns and increasing natural light — to make the environment less confusing for residents with dementia. The memory-care unit remains a secured area intended for residents needing a higher level of supervision.
Community partnerships: Davis said Aurora Lakeland Medical Center resident physicians and Gateway nursing students have attended the virtual dementia experience at the facility. The presentation also mentioned Teepa Snow, a nationally recognized dementia-care educator, whose work informed the training curriculum used by Dementia Care Solutions.
Ending: trustees encouraged continuing outreach to other Walworth County memory-care providers and supported using the facility’s trainers to offer dementia-focused education to outside agencies.
