Dementia care obviously has more challenges than nearly any other kind of caregiving. Consider Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Jasmine Korte’s approach to assisting a client with moderate to severe dementia: “Even though some might have labeled her as a problem, I quickly perceived she needed people who had time, energy and patience to meet her where she was in her life’s journey and work with her appropriately to make her life easier.”
Jasmine had her work cut out for her, but as the weeks went by, Jasmine learned the client’s behavioral cues and how best to help her:
- “My client’s demeanor might be considered prickly by some, but the truth was she just needed more understanding than she was getting. Patience, empathy and compassion were ‘musts.’ ”
- “I learned that, despite her dementia, my client was still physically quite strong. I had to account for that.”
- “I also learned something as simple as using a big cup of warm water to wash her head instead of the shower turned what would usually be a fight to be bathed into an almost pleasant cleaning experience for her.”
- “I always was attentive during my overnight shifts because my client had the habit of getting up multiple times each night and wandering the halls of her memory care unit. Sometimes she’d wander into other residents’ rooms, and issues would ensue.”
- “I learned she appreciated having her hand held while she wandered so she knew I was there, and I could help guide her much easier than following behind her.”
Jasmine once was credited with preventing a health disaster. “One night when I had clocked in,” Jasmine recalled, “I got to my client’s room, and she was half collapsed on the bed. She was strong and very mobile, so this situation felt off to me. I tried helping her into bed, but she couldn’t move.”
Jasmine then explained how she handled the situation: “I learned from my Home Instead training that, for the safety of my client and me, I needed to gently ease the client to the floor. In my client’s case, it technically was a fall even though it was a slow-motion one, so I followed Home Instead’s procedure. After safely lowering the client to the floor, I called for help. In this case, I notified the memory-care unit staff. Then I notified our Home Instead office and care coordinator. It goes without saying, but staying with the client and keeping her calm was really important. It would’ve been much harder to handle the situation without that training.”
After the memory-care unit staff checked the client’s vitals, the nurses found the client’s blood oxygen was well below the normal range, so she was sent to the hospital. Jasmine said: “We sat for five hours in the emergency room and later found out my client had a sodium imbalance. It’s something so small and so easy to miss because outside of her lack of coordination, nothing was identifiably wrong with her. But if we had let her go on like that, it could have had devastating consequences for her health.”
Jasmine added: “After that, we were able to adjust her diet and get her back up and running again in no time, but I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been around to advocate for her.” That was not the first time Jasmine had to troubleshoot for someone who was living with dementia. Before joining Home Instead, she served as a family caregiver for several of her great-aunts, including one with dementia. Of course, Jasmine has learned more about caregiving at Home Instead.
Care Pro training is an important element at owner Michael Lammers’ award-winning Home Instead® franchise of Boulder, Broomfield and northwest Adams Counties. To build on their knowledge and experience, the Care Pros are offered the opportunity to increase their dementia-care skills by taking part in the Home Instead network’s one-of-a-kind training protocol.
Home Instead’s Person-Centered Care Training for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias is recognized by the Alzheimer’s Association® for incorporating the evidence-based dementia-care practice recommendations in these topic areas: Alzheimer’s and dementia, person-centered care, assessment and care planning, activities of daily living, and behaviors and communication.
Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Brenda Munro said: “Jasmine displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.’ Jasmine not only assists her clients, but helps their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom. For Jasmine, touching lives impacts her soul, whether she is providing physical help such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders or personal care or if she is offering emotional support in a companionship role.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (720) 890-0184 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at HomeInstead.com/397.
