Best Practice in Managing Patients with Dementia

Older adults with dementia are 9 times as likely to require a stay in a skilled nursing facility as their cognitively intact counterparts. Skilled rehabilitation (including physical therapy,occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nursing) is an integral part of an older adult's return to the optimal functional level of independence following an injury or illness. Patients with dementia pose unique challenges to rehabilitation professionals. Severe deficits in attention, judgment, memory, communication, and language are common in individuals with dementia. The progressive nature of dementia results inincreased dependence on caregivers as well as cost to the healthcare system with worldwide costs of $604 billion in 2010.

It is commonly thought that patients with dementia cannotbenefit from rehabilitation services because of behaviors, lack of communication, or difficulties in learning. However,current literature indicates IWDs can benefit fromrehabilitation as much as adults without dementia. With the proper knowledge and training, rehabilitation clinicians areable to provide dementia-specific, person-centered care, which can maximize rehabilitation outcomes by maintaining oreven improving physical performance and function and thereby reduce healthcare costs. This course will provide you with best practice and evidence-based approaches to overcome these challenges to improve functional outcomes for these patients.

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants

Delivery Format: Asynchronous, recorded video to be watched online at your leisure

Highlights

• Immediately improve your client's functional participation and outcomes using practical treatment techniques
• Effective, evidence-based interventions for patients with dementia