Author: Cris Castellano

North Richland Hills, TX. AGE-u-cate Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com) is pleased to announce an expansion into community-based library services with dementia-capable life enrichment resources and library staff training in response to the increased demand for dementia-capable library services.  

Sarah McNicol’s book entitled, “Supporting People to Live Well with Dementia:  A Guide for Library Services” calls for library systems to put a greater emphasis on community-based care to serve persons living with dementia.  AGE-u-cate Training Institute is uniquely positioned to support the vision of library systems to step outside of their four walls to reach isolated people living with dementia in the community. 

In addition to dementia-friendly resources, library staff needs dementia education so that they are equipped to promote community-wide dementia awareness.  “It is unrealistic to expect that librarians will simply acquire dementia-capable skills on the job.  An intentional education effort is required to equip librarians with the knowledge and tools necessary to be successful in serving the dementia community” states Laura Ellen Christian, AGE-u-cate President.

“People living with dementia can read, but sadly, most cease reading all together because traditional reading materials do not accommodate the cognitive and visual changes that occur as the disease progresses” states Susan Ostrowski, MA, MS, SLP, Founder and Co-Creator of Reading2Connect®, a Montessori-based life enrichment program that provides specialized reading materials to engage elders living with dementia, at all stages. 

AGE-u-cate and Reading2Connect formed a partnership in 2020 to include dementia education utilizing Dementia Live®, a high-impact, dementia simulation experience that immerses participants into life with dementia with the life enrichment resource of Reading2Connect. 

Combined, Dementia Live and Reading2Connect offer a comprehensive program designed to enhance the quality of life with dementia-capable care and service.

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute  

AGE-u-cate Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults.

AGE-u-cate contact:  Cris Castellano, Director of Marketing

cris.castellano@ageucate.com  817-857-1157 x 214

North Richland Hills, TX. AGE-u-cate Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com) is pleased to announce a partnership with OMA, a program headquartered at the Scripps Gerontology Center, an Ohio Center of Excellence at Miami University.  AGE-u-cate will offer the OMA certification program to its expansive partner network of dementia professionals and volunteers who work in eldercare, community-based organizations,  universities, and hospitals.

Opening Minds through Art (OMA) was founded by Dr. Elizabeth “Like” Lokon in 2007 and is grounded in person-centered care principles. People living with dementia (artists) are paired with volunteers (students, families, caregivers) who are trained to rely on imagination instead of memory and focus on remaining strengths instead of lost skills. OMA enables people living with dementia to assume new roles as artists and teachers and leave a legacy of beautiful artwork.

“We are excited to collaborate with the OMA team. This innovative program is a great fit to AGE-u-cate’s suite of impactful programs that help to improve the quality of life for persons living with dementia”, says Laura Ellen Christian, AGE-u-cate’s President.

Through this partnership a new 2-hour certification course, Intergenerational Arts Programming for People Living with Dementia, is available.  This course teaches core principles of the full 12-hour OMA training program, equipping the learner with foundational tools necessary to engage and interact with people living with dementia through arts-based programming modalities. 

“The AGE-u-cate model is exactly what we were looking for to help get OMA into the hands of more care partners. We look forward to seeing where we go together!”  Dr. Lokon added. 

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute  

AGE-u-cate Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults.

AGE-u-cate contact:  Cris Castellano, Director of Marketing

cris.castellano@ageucate.com  817-857-1157 x 214

OMA contact: Meghan Young, MGS Associate Director

Youngma3@MiamiOH.edu   513-529-1701

North Richland Hills, TX. AGE-u-cate Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com), an innovative provider of aging and dementia training solutions, today announced that Laura Ellen Christian has been named as President.

Christian has more than 18 years of experience in the aging services space with her beginning as an engagement professional for a senior living community that quickly evolved into a leadership role for a top senior living management company.  During Christian’s senior living tenure, she was instrumental in developing and implementing cutting-edge engagement programming as well as building the company’s dementia care training program.  She has a passion for advocating for increased quality of life and supporting people living with dementia which led her to join the AGE-u-cate team in 2021.   

“Laura Ellen is the right leader to move AGE-u-cate forward,” said Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate’s Founder, and Owner. “We’ve experienced exponential growth since the launch of our first program, Dementia Live®, in 2015. Our future is exciting and filled with opportunities to continue rapid expansion across the healthcare and aging services landscape”.

“I am excited to step up to this leadership position. AGE-u-cate has a unique business model and a talented team of passionate professionals. We are expanding our partnerships in many diverse sectors and the opportunities in this space are almost endless as the needs for our services escalate. Pam is a visionary, and we will continue to work closely together in moving AGE-u-cate forward to affect positive change for older adults and those who serve them.”

Christian has a B.S.Ed in Therapeutic Recreation from The University of Georgia and has completed training courses through Dementia Capable Care becoming a CPI Dementia Care Behavior Specialist in 2018. She is also an active board member of Dementia Action Alliance.

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute  

AGE-u-cate Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults.  Its suite of program offerings includes Dementia Live®, Compassionate Touch®, Reading2Connect®, REVEAL Aging, Flashback, and others.

AGE-u-cate contact:  Cris Castellano, Director of Marketing

Cris.castellano@ageucate.com  817-857-1157  x 214

North Richland Hills, TX. AGE-u-cate Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com) is pleased to announce that its programs have been included in a grant awarded by the U.S. Health and Human Services through the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to the North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging. (NCTCOG). 

The three-year project will serve a 28-county area, including the entirety of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and the greater Tyler (East Texas) area.  

 The services include educating and supporting people with dementia, as well as family and professional caregivers of people living with dementia.  AGE-u-cate’s partners, James L. West Center for Dementia Care and Dementia Friendly Fort Worth will be conducting training and community education that include the Dementia Live and Compassionate Touch programs.   

 “We are thrilled to see this community collaboration project come to fruition. Hundreds of family caregivers, first responders, staff and people living with dementia will benefit from this expansive project”, says Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate’s Founder and CEO.  

 NCTCOG Director of Aging Programs Doni Green considers the project a labor of love. She’d worked with older adults for more than 20 years before helping care for her father with dementia, and she found it a humbling experience. She explains, “I could no longer reason in the same way or convince him that there were no strangers in his home.  I had to learn new ways to communicate in order to reassure him he was okay and redirect him when necessary.” 

 

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute    

 

AGE-u-cate Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults.  

 AGE-u-cate contact:  Cris Castellano, Director of Marketing, cris.castellano@ageucate.com,  817-857-1157 x 214

 North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging, Doni Green, Director of Aging Programs: dgreen@nctcog.org 817-695-9193 

Denver, CO, and North Richland Hills, TX. AGE-u-cate Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com) is pleased to announce an award of $299,286.22 in Civil Monetary Penalty funding by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help thirty (30) Colorado nursing homes improve care for residents living with dementia.

 

The two-year project is titled “Reading2Connect:  A One-of-a-Kind Program to Enhance the Social-Emotional Wellbeing of Long-Stay Residents through the Power of Age/Dementia Friendly Books.”

 

Reading2Connect is a strength-based program that enables nursing home residents to achieve a higher level of well-being through reading independently, expressing their individuality, recalling their pasts, sharing humor, and emotionally connecting with peers, family, and staff.

 

This project aims to integrate Reading2Connect into nursing homes’ life enrichment programs, fostering resident-centered and resident-directed activities.

 

“Reading2Connect addresses the unmet social needs of persons living with dementia. We look forward to working with Colorado nursing homes in bringing this dynamic program to their communities,” states Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate’s Founder and CEO.

 

The Reading2Connect program is the work of Speech Language Pathologist Susan Ostrowski, MA, MS, CCC-SLP.  Susan holds a master’s degree in remedial reading and a master’s degree in speech pathology from Columbia University.

 

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute

   

AGE-u-cate Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults.

 

Contact Information: 

AGE-u-cate contact:  Julie Boggess, VP of Grant Initiatives

Julie.boggess@ageucate.com  817-857-1157 x 216

Colorado CMP Program Team

cdphe_nhib_grants@state.co.us

 

PHILADELPHIA, PA, and North Richland Hills, TX.

AGE-u-cateTraining Institute (www.AGEucate.com) is pleased to announce an award of $445,000 in Civil Monetary Penalty funding by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help thirty(30) Virginia nursing homes improve care to residents living with dementia.

The three-year project is entitled, “Reading2Connect: A One-of-a-Kind Program to Enhance the Social-Emotional Wellbeing of Long-Stay Residents through the Power of Age/Dementia Friendly Books”.

 

Reading2Connect is a strength-based program that enables nursing home residents to achieve a higher level of well-being through reading independently, expressing their individuality, recalling their pasts, sharing humor, and emotionally connecting with peers, family, and staff.

This project aims to integrate Reading2Connect into nursing homes’ life enrichment programs, fostering resident-centered and resident-directed activities.

“Reading2Connect addresses the unmet social needs of persons living with dementia. We look forward to working with Virginia nursing homes in bringing this dynamic program to their communities,” states Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate’s Founder and CEO.

The Reading2Connect program is the work of Speech Language Pathologist Susan Ostrowski, MA,  MS, CCC-SLP. Susan holds a master’s degree in remedial reading and a master’s degree in speech pathology from Columbia University.

 

About AGE-u-cate® Training Institute
AGE-u-cate® Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults. http://www.ageucate.com

AGE-u-cate contact:

Julie Boggess, VP of Grant Initiatives -Julie.boggess@ageucate.com

Phone: 817-857-1157 x 216

Virginia CMP Reinvestment Program Team Contact:

CMP Funds@dmas.virginia.gov  Phone: 804-629-7455

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and BEDFORD, TX  May 18, 2022

AGE-u-cate® Training Institute (www.AGEucate.com) has been awarded $139,600 in Civil Monetary Penalty funding by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help twenty (20) Arizona certified nursing homes improve care for residents living with dementia.

The two-year project is entitled, “Compassionate Touch®: A Clinical Practice to Improve Resident Wellbeing and Promote Quality of Life.”

 

About Compassionate Touch®:

Compassionate Touch® is an approach that helps nursing facilities create an environment to promote comfort, attachment, inclusion, and love, thereby improving the well-being and quality of life of all residents. This is accomplished by teaching employees how to integrate touch techniques to calm, soothe and connect into their daily care of nursing home residents.

“There is an urgent need to better support persons living with dementia and we look forward to working with Arizona certified nursing homes,” said Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate® Founder, and CEO. “This program offers simple, effective tools for care partners to connect with, calm, and comfort those in their care.”

The Compassionate Touch® program was developed by Ann Catlin, OTR, LMT, a leading expert in the field of skilled touch in eldercare and hospice. Drawing on 30 years’ experience, Ann has guided professionals and organizations to rediscover ‘touch-as-medicine’ in person-centered dementia care.

 

About AGE-u-cate® Training Institute
AGE-u-cate® Training Institute delivers evidence-informed, high-impact caregiver education and meaningful life enrichment programs, improving the quality of life for older adults. http://www.ageucate.com

AGE-u-cate® contact: Julie Boggess, VP of Grant Initiatives
Julie.boggess@ageucate.com | 817-857-1157 x 216

AZ Department of Health Services contact: Diane Eckles, Bureau Chief, Bureau Long-term Care | Diane.Eckles@azdhs.gov