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Carlsbad, Calif. – Coinciding with World Alzheimer’s Month and California’s newly signed resolution proclaiming the week of September 22 to 29, 2029 as Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) Awareness Week, For Their Thoughts® Foundation, in partnership  with AGE-u-cate™ Training Institute, is proud to announce a series of impactful hands-on education events throughout September. Dementia is a daunting topic that too often leaves families feeling overwhelmed and isolated. These initiatives aim to raise global awareness and provide essential training for professionals and caregivers of individuals living with FTD or Alzheimer’s.

FTD Awareness week marks a pivotal opportunity to deepen advocacy and education on a form of dementia that is the most common under the age of 60 years of age; a reminder that dementia is not a part of healthy aging. The time to act on this world epidemic of dementia is now. As part of this effort, For Their Thoughts Foundation is offering several key events to empower change and evoke empathy both in the U.S. and internationally:

• First Responder Training in San Diego County, CA: Specialized training sessions utilizing AGE-u-cate’s Dementia Live® immersive workshop will be conducted to equip first responders with an inside-out perspective of what it’s like to live with cognitive impairment. The skills, awareness and knowledge gained prepares first responders to better assist those living with dementia in emergency situations.
• Rakhma’s 40th Anniversary Dementia Fair & Awareness Walk, Minneapolis, MN: With an anticipated 200+ attendance of local family caregivers, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, For Their Thoughts will be offering the opportunity to all guests to participate in Dementia Live to foster compassionate care and enhance community support.
• 14^th Annual International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias in Amsterdam, Netherlands: For Their Thoughts will present a comprehensive academic poster and a blitz presentation, showcasing the effectiveness of experiential learning as an awareness tool. The foundation will also host a unique Dementia Live® Happy Hour and several workshops, providing conference attendees the opportunity to experience Dementia Live first hand. 

This partnership between For Their Thoughts Foundation and AGE-u-cate exemplifies the importance of collaboration in expanding global dementia education. Together, they are empowering caregivers, healthcare professionals, and community leaders to advocate for more compassionate care and improved quality of life for individuals living with dementia. These efforts also highlight the need for increased awareness and training within various sectors of society, including public safety, healthcare, and caregiving communities.

“We are excited to work alongside AGE-u-cate in bringing meaningful education and advocacy to both national and international audiences,” said Betsy Hall, Founder of For Their Thoughts Foundation. “I witnessed FTD, simultaneously, strip my mother and grandmother of everything that made them human. My family was left on our own to navigate the complexity of care. NO ONE in this community should feel dismissed and isolated. I am on a mission to change that, and it’s personal.”

This September, as we observe FTD Awareness Week and World Alzheimer’s Month, the collaboration between AGE-u-cate and For Their Thoughts Foundation serves as a reminder of the critical need for ongoing education and awareness initiatives to support the millions impacted by dementia worldwide.

For more information on these events or how to get involved, visit www.fortheirthoughts.org or www.ageucate.com.

Media Contact:
Betsy Hall 
Founder
For Their Thoughts Foundation
b.hall@fortheirthoughts.org

About AGE-u-cate Training Institute
AGE-u-cate™ Training Institute is a global leader in dementia and aging awareness education, specializing in experiential training programs such as Dementia Live® and Compassionate Touch®. These programs empower caregivers, healthcare professionals, and communities to better support individuals living with dementia.

About For Their Thoughts Foundation
For Their Thoughts® Foundation (FTTF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with dementia and their caregivers through hands-on education, resource navigation, financial relief, and ensuring no one faces these challenges alone. By fostering community engagement and collaboration, we aim to lift each other, lift the families and lift the stigma, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for all impacted by FTD or dementia.

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Secretary Laura Howard today announced a partnership with AGE-u-cate™ Training Institute to train 30 Kansas certified nursing facilities as part of a one-year education project, “Back to Basics: Building Blocks To Cultivate Compassion, Empathy And Life Engagement To Improve Quality Of Life For Long-Term Care Residents.”

AGE-u-cate™ submitted a Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Reinvestment Application to KDADS to request funds from the agency’s CMP program, funded by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Kansas nursing facilities signed up to participate to incorporate four Age-u-cate™ programs into their education curriculum for staff. These programs will serve as building blocks leading to improved quality of life for residents by building meaningful relationships between staff and residents, promoting emotional health, and access to meaningful activities.

• Dementia Live® – an immersive dementia simulation and empathy training experience
• Compassionate Touch® – a person-first therapeutic touch caregiving protocol that builds stronger relationships between staff and residents
• REVEAL Aging™ – online caregiver courses that focus on cultivating empathy and quality of life
• Flashback™ – an interactive reminiscing activity

“Continuing education and training for Kansas nursing facility staff is an ongoing critical need,” KDADS CMP Program Manager Rebecca Miller said. “Partnering with AGE-u-cate™ allows us to invest funding directly to facilities across the state and provide them access to relevant and impactful tools that advance the culture of care with compassion as individuals age and their needs change.”

Thirty nursing homes will receive more than $147 thousand to complete the program:

• Eureka Nursing Center
• Galena Nursing Center
• Grand Plains
• Heritage Healthcare
• Hilltop Manor
• Medicalodges:
  • Arkansas City
  • Atchison 
  • Columbus
  • Eudora
  • Fort Scott
  • Frontenac
  • Goddard
  • Great Bend
  • Independence
  • Iola
  • Paola
  • Pittsburg
• Medicalodges Kansas City Post Acute
• Medicalodges of Kinsley
• Medicalodges of Leavenworth
• Medicalodges of Wichita
• Medicalodges of Midland Coffeyville
• Montgomery Place
• Moran Manor
• Northpoint
• Osage Nursing Center
• Pleasant Valley
• Quaker Hill
• Sabetha Manor
• Wheatland Nursing Center

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 and inspiring change in organizations that serve older adults. The Back-to-Basics project was developed by the AGE-u-cate™ team of aging services professionals who have extensive experience in eldercare, gerontology, dementia care and training, business development, and CMP grant procurement and project management. 

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:  Laura Ellen Christian

817-857-1157 x 217

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:  Laura Ellen Christian

817-857-1157 x 217

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:  Laura Ellen Christian

817-857-1157 x 217

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:  Laura Ellen Christian

817-857-1157 x 217

 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

New Partnership Allows Providers, Families, and Care Teams to Receive Real-Time Education to Help Care for Elderly Populations

DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2022 / Serenity Engage, a HIPAA-compliant communication platform for senior living, hospice, and home care to streamline care coordination, announces their partnership with AGE-u-cate Training Institute, a global company devoted to providing quality, innovative and research-based aging and dementia training.

The aging population is rising by leaps and bounds. By 2040 it is predicted that one in five Americans will be age 65 or older, up from about one in eight in 2000 according to the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization. As a result, the demand for quality care of aging loved ones is climbing steadily. Education and communication are important to understanding the true need for collaboration across improving senior care. Those that care for our elders deserve the support and tools they need to continue providing the best senior care possible through available resources driving improved quality care.

“We’re delighted and honored to be working in partnership with Serenity Engage to ignite a change for advancing and improving elderly service offerings,” said Pam Brandon, CEO and founder of AGE-u-cate Learning Institute. “The demand for quality care for aging loved ones only continues to increase. Our elderly population deserves the highest level of compassion, care and respect, and we look forward to working with Serenity Engage to further educate our collective audiences.”

“Connecting and communicating knowledge further bridges the gap between a care team and the family members of the senior they care for,” said Katherine Wells, CEO and founder of Serenity Engage. “We’re excited to expand our service offerings by promoting and providing access to AGE-u-cate’s high-impact caregiver education program. It’s important for caregivers to understand and be able to communicate with the families that need and depend on their assistance in looking after their loved one.”

AGE-u-cate Training Institute focuses on developing and delivering the training needed by senior care staff through supporting and well educating them in their job roles. In doing so, caregivers are better equipped and able to care for the elderly in the best way they know how. The more people know about someone and their situation, the better equipped and informed they are to act best on that person’s behalf.

This partnership allows Serenity Engage to share specific AGE-u-cate training and educational content through their platform, enabling customers to have ‘just in time’ training at their fingertips. Additionally, Serenity Engage customers receive a 10% discount on the AGE-u-cate course catalog by visiting serenity.ageucate.com.

Founded in 2020, Serenity Engage brings care teams, family, and provider partners together on a single, secure HIPAA-compliant communication platform to establish a foundation of trust from day one. By consolidating communications between all providers and family members onto one platform, Serenity Engage streamlines care coordination, lowers costs, and improves caregiver retention. The platform has been proven to optimize senior care community operational efficiencies, resulting in savings of more than $75,000 per year and increasing census by more than 15 percent.

To learn more about Serenity Engage, visit: https://serenityengage.com/

About Serenity Engage

Serenity Engage is a secure, collaborative group messaging platform that connects everyone providing care to older adults through a mobile and web collaboration platform. The HIPAA-compliant platform fosters enhanced communication and collaboration between everyone involved in a senior’s care – including families and care teams. Senior care facilities, families and providers use Serenity Engage to strengthen relationships between care teams and families, and increase provider productivity, improve patient quality and offer families greater peace of mind regarding their loved ones. Engage with Serenity at serenityengage.com

Media Contact:
Kyla Ludwig
York IE
kyla@york.ie

SOURCE: Serenity Engage