A Cross-sector Collaboration to Connect Seniors to Caregiving Resources Takes Flight in Perham

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Otter Tail County Human Services employees, Perham Health staff,

the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging and community members
looked at the challenges the community faces with elder care. With

a Silos To Circles grant, these stakeholders launched “The

Connection”.

 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield is recognizing this collaboration with a

Trailblazer Award - bringing leaders together to promote an

integrated approach to health care delivery.

 

Cheryl Wiskow and Michelle Fischer, OTC, Long Term Care Social

Workers are part of the steering team for the Silos to Circles program

in our area.

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To learn more click here!

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Dancing Sky AAA Continues to Increase Dementia Awareness

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As the DSAAA continues to work at increasing dementia awareness, the
need was identified for a more comprehensive approach to community
education and awareness. The agency developed “EMS Responds: A
Patient-Centered Approach to Emergency Care of Dementia Patients.”
This program partners with rural EMS and First Responder programs
to provide education to increase their knowledge and understanding
of dementia. The program allows EMS personnel to experience the
Virtual Dementia Tour®, spend time learning about dementia and
how to see beyond it and focus on the uniqueness of these patients.

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As part of the goal to increase dementia awareness, the Dementia Friends
Initiative continues to provide participants knowledge on the disease and

how individuals and communities can help those with the disease. Because all
family members are affected by a diagnosis of dementia, “Grandpa and Lucy”,
has been incorporated into the Dementia Friends Initiative. Written by a
ninth grader in St. Paul, the book helps youth learn about dementia.
A high school version of Dementia Friends has also been created to
reach a younger generation.

 

During the past year, 993 people became Dementia Friends.

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Return to Community Partners with
Medication Therapy Management

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Medication Therapy Management is an initiative, in which the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging, Consultant Pharmacies Inc. and the Minnesota Board on Aging have joined forces providing medication regimen reviews to people following a nursing home stay. Our Community Living Specialists (CLS) provide medication lists, history/physical and labs to the pharmacy consultants through secure software. Pharmacy consultants then provide recommendations, which the CLS deliver, with an explanation, to the consumer. A copy of the recommendations are also provided to their doctor.

 

The impact of this program has been far reaching and pharmacists presented this initiative at the National Conference of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. An evidence-based study in partnership with NDSU is another result of this initiative.

 

In 2018, CLS utilized Medication Therapy for 244 people.

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Minnesota is now the Land of 10,000 Dementia Friends

 

Minnesota is more than the Land of 10,000 Lakes; it’s also the Land of 10,000 Dementia Friends! A year ago, ACT on Alzheimer’s set a goal to have 10,000 people become Dementia Friends by participating in information sessions and then turning what they learned into action in their communities.

The goal became reality when Kate Storhaug, program developer at the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging and a Dementia Friends Champion, hosted a January 9 session with 34 participants from the Otter Tail Service Providers networking group in Fergus Falls.

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Kate has delivered  Dementia Friends Information Sessions to over 300 people, including care providers, faith community members, county and city workers, hospital staff, police officers, and community members. Her efforts along with other Champions across the state made the 10,000 mark possible.

“It has become my passion,” said Kate. “Almost everyone has been impacted by dementia or knows someone who has, and yet most people still don’t know much about the disease. We can show them that people with dementia are people, too, and eliminate the fear factor.”

Patricia Samuelson, manager at Patriot Assisted Living in Fergus Falls, MN, was a participant at one of Kate’s sessions. She found so much value in what she learned that she has asked Kate to offer an information session at her facility. “The need to have compassionate and educated care providers is very important in this industry and I’m a huge advocate for giving people the tools, knowledge and skills to care for people with dementia,” Patricia said.

Join the Dementia Friends movement! If you are interested in attending a session or becoming a Champion, visit www.actonalz.org/dementia-friend for more information.

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Healthy Living As You Age

 

Dementia Friends is a global movement that is changing the way people think,
act and talk about dementia! 

 

Developed by the Alzheimer’s Society, the goal of the Dementia Friends sessions
is to help community members understand dementia and learn small things
they can do to make a difference for people living with dementia.

 

Our Development staff were trained to facilitate Dementia Friends sessions
in March and since then have provided 26 sessions in 16 communities,
resulting in 453 people becoming Dementia Friends!

 

Another tool used to spread awareness and help create dementia-friendly
communities is the Virtual Dementia Tour. 

 

This groundbreaking, evidence-based method, uses sensory tools and
instruction to simulate the effects of dementia so people can personally
experience the physical and cognitive challenges. 

 

Service organizations such as Police and Fire Departments, EMS,
Social Services, faith-based communities and communities at-large
have all benefited from this experience.

 

Our Development staff have also become trained to lead these tours
and this past year agencies such as Polk County Social Service,
Lake of the Woods Providers, the NWRDC and even MN Rep.
Deb Kiel participated in Virtual Dementia Tours!

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Knowing your Options is Important for
Planning a Successful Return Home

 

Written by Karin Haugrud

 

After a two-and-a-half- month stint in a Detroit Lakes
nursing home following hip surgery and rehab, Annetta
Haley was happy to return to her home on Rose Lake in
rural Frazee, MN. Discharging a few days before the
Memorial Day holiday in 2010, the thing she looked forward
to most was spending the time on the patio. She credits a
service provided by the Senior LinkAge Line®, which helps
older Minnesotans transition out of the nursing home, as
the reason she returned home successfully.

 

Haley was one of the first nursing home residents served
in the Return to Community initiative. She is the longest
consumer the program as followed to date.

 

Haley was no stranger to calling the Senior LinkAge Line®, which is sponsored by the Minnesota Board on Aging. In the fall of 2010 she called to report a telephone scam. She had no idea at that time that the service would assist her in returning home from the nursing home.

 

The Return to Community service is a partnership between the Minnesota Board on Aging, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, nursing facilities and the Area Agencies on Aging. This initiative started in 2010 to help Minnesotans in nursing homes return home has just hit the milestone of assisting 2,000 people.

 

The Return to Community service focuses on nursing home residents who have been in a nursing facility for at least 45 days and meet a set of health and functional criteria. Studies show the longer a person stays in the nursing home, the less likely they are to return to the community and the more likely they are to spend down their resources. A 90- to 180-day window after admission is the ideal time period to identify residents for community transition. Identifying people earlier in the hospital who transition to a nursing home enables people to make better decisions about their long-term care needs and using their savings and income more effectively. The Return to Community service helps people entering a nursing home become aware of their choices and live in the community if that is the consumer’s choice and they want help to leave. In that way,
it helps to delay older Minnesotans from going on public assistance when their resources are spent down for nursing homes. That means savings to Minnesota’s state budget. 

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Nancy Sandahl-Finstrom, a registered nurse and a Senior LinkAge Line® Community Living Specialist with the Dancing Sky Agency on Aging helped Haley to return home. With 35 years of nursing experience, she helped set up services to ensure Haley would be successful in the community once she returned home. Those services included home health nursing services, a personal response system and a TTY Text Telephone. Haley, who lives with her daughter and son in law, didn’t feel she needed home delivered - meals as her family assists with that.

 

While her daughter helps her with laundry, cooking and transportation needs, Haley lives fairly independently. She gets around her home with the use of a walker with a built-in seat. A blood pressure machine allows her to check her blood pressure weekly without having to go to the clinic and she has set up auto payments for paying her bills.

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At the age of 82, a typical day for Haley consists of reading, watching TV, playing Solitaire on her Ipad, going on Facebook, sitting on the patio and going on pontoon rides on Rose Lake. She also enjoys traveling and recently returned from visiting her son in Orlando, Fl.

 

Haley says she appreciates the quarterly follow up check in calls she receives from the Return to Community program. “Return to community is a great service that helps a consumer live at home,” said Sandahl of the service. “Plus the follow-up calls and visits for five years are helpful in keeping the senior aware of services that they may need now or in the future.”

 

For more information on helping someone move out of a nursing home to a home in the community, call the Senior LinkAge Line® at (800) 333-2433 or go to MinnesotaHelp.info™, an online directory of human services in Minnesota.

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