Earlier this year, associates of Silverado Senior Living – Valley Ranch had the opportunity to share their knowledge on serving the memory-impaired with participants of a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training Program; an emergency preparedness program for police officers, sheriff’s department personal, correction officers and nursing students of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
As part of the two-day training, the Silverado team was asked to teach a group of emergency responders how to safely and effectively respond to the needs of a person with memory-impairment. But rather than just telling the group about the effects of memory-impairment, they decided to show them.
The team guided over 60 participants through the Virtual Dementia TourTM – a dementia training simulator created by renowned geriatric specialist P.K. Beville, M.S.
The tours began with a pre-test, to record any existing perceptions about the effects of memory-impairment. The participants were then garbed with plastic gloves and had their thumbs and forefingers taped to simulate issues with dexterity, a common difficulty for people with memory-impairing conditions. Participants also wore goggles that were designed to limit visibility and mimic the effects of glaucoma. Lastly, they put on headphones to produce white noise and add an extra level of disorientation.
Each 30-minute tour ended with a debriefing, where participants could reflect on their preconceptions and discuss whether their opinions had changed. The responses from the participants of the CIT Training Program were overwhelmingly positive; their comments included: “I had no idea… This will change the way I do my job… [and] we should implement this for orientation of all our new recruits.”
In fact, the feedback was so positive that the Silverado team was asked to be an ongoing partner for all future CIT Training Programs. The team also received an invitation from the Alzheimer’s Association to showcase their immersive training program at the upcoming Richard J. Price Caregiver Conference.
This wonderful effort is a testament to Silverado’s “Love is Greater than Fear” culture and another step toward changing how the world cares for people with memory-impairing conditions. For more information, or to take the Virtual Dementia Tour contact valleyranch@silveradosenior.com
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