We had the pleasure of working with Erin and Chris Bonitto of Gemini Consulting last week,  learning new things about serving persons with dementia. 

Erin and Chris showed us how every staff person working at Dow Rummel Village can bring pleasure, purpose and peace to our residents’ lives and at the same time bring more meaning and enjoyment to our work.  Erin shared many ideas to help us effectively communicate with persons with dementia.  Approach and the words you use are so important in communication.   We came away with some great new ideas and opportunities to enhance our resident’s quality of life.

In additional to the time they spent with our staff, we hosted an evening event in which Erin spoke about “What Everyone Needs to Know about Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Memory Care Facilities”. A capacity crowd heard Erin outline the very important differences between “Age-Associated Memory Impairment” and “Alzheimer’s Disease”. 

She also talked about how we as caregivers can reduce frustration by learning “the language” of Alzheimer’s disease and how to preserve their independence through simple, but meaningful activities.  We were proud to host this great event and thank the many who came to share and learn. 

It would not have happened if not for the sponsorship from the Fred and Mary Stahmann Family Fund of the SFACF.  A heartfelt thank you to Mary Tidwell for arranging this sponsorship.