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Posted
7/22/2008
Dementia dialogues
reaches 10,000
Over the past six years, the
Office for the Study of Aging at the
Arnold School of Public Health at USC has been conducting
Dementia Dialogues, a basic course for caregivers leading to a Dementia
Specialist Certificate, across the state of South Carolina. During the
month of April, 2008 Jan Merling welcomed the 10,000th participant to
the series and celebrated the 5,000th graduate. Offered statewide since
2002 in over 250 locations in 34 counties, the series has been widely
attended. Fifty seven percent of the participants in Dementia Dialogues
were direct caregivers employed in provision of services with an
additional 7% being family or volunteer caregivers. Ten percent of
attendees were in administrative or policy making positions.
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Jeanette Brown,
Food Service Director at Driftwood Rehabilitation and Nursing
Center in North Charleston, became the 10,000th individual to
enroll in Dementia Dialogues since its inception in 2002. |
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Jan Merling
presents a certificate of completion to Allison Poole, the
5000th participant to complete all five sessions of Dementia
Dialogues. Ms. Poole is currently a Medical Social Worker with
Heartland Hospice in Charleston. |
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Based on the
South Carolina
Alzheimer’s Disease Registry, the number
of individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) is
increasing in institutions and at home as the population ages. It is
projected that 66,000 individuals in South Carolina will have a
diagnosis of Dementia by 2015. An understanding of both the disease
process and the unique care requirements are necessary to maintain the
quality of life for the individual with ADRD and their formal and
informal caregivers.
Dementia Dialogues, is a five-part learning experience designed to
educate individuals who care for persons who exhibit signs and symptoms
associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders. In
collaboration with the Bureau of Long Term Care, South Carolina
Department of Health and Human Services, this training is provided to
facilities and other related organizations at no cost.
For more information about Dementia Dialogues please contact Jan Merling at 803-318-1601 or at
jmerling@sc.edu.
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