Dementia Education Program Newsletter
In 2017, the Â鶹AV Dementia Education Program developed community workshops to educate and support family care partners who are looking after a loved with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia-related illnesses. Â
Dr. José A. Morais, Professor and Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Â鶹AV, and Dr. Serge Gauthier, Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery and Psychiatry at Â鶹AV and former Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit at the Â鶹AV Research Centre for Studies in Aging, worked in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Care Consultant and Facilitator Mrs. Claire Webster and with the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning on this initiative.
Through education and empowerment, these workshops help support informal care partners and provide them with the necessary resources to turn to in the community for support. Â
These workshops, offered in French and English, focus on the most important elements that care partners need to know regarding dementia and its associated behavioural and psychological symptoms.
A theory component helps family members prepare for the journey of caring for someone who has the disease, including best practices for ensuring their own well-being as care partners.
The workshops also contain a real-life scenario component in the simulated apartment to educate caregivers on how to create a safe home environment. Simulation provides the ideal venue for caregivers to gain experience and manage difficult and delicate situations such as those encountered by patients with dementia.
Care partners—their needs, their knowledge—are at the heart of this project.Â
In-person group workshops can be organized in partnership with organizations. Â
For more information, please contact Maria Vincelli, Dementia Education Program Coordinator by email at dementia [at] mcgill.ca.
