Dementia Care
The Guiding Principles for Dementia Care
Working to provide compassionate and quality care for people who suffer from dementia.
An Effective Program of Care and Services for People with Dementia
For those suffering from memory loss or dementia (which includes Alzheimer's disease and other causes of memory loss and confusion), finding specialized dementia care services that provide high quality of life can be a challenge. To help nursing homes, senior housing, home care and adult day services providers offer the best possible dementia care services - and to help families identify these quality services - Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance (MHHA) has published the Guiding Principles for Dementia Care. Drawing from the vast experience of MHHA members in providing services for older adults in a variety of settings, the Guiding Principles for Dementia Care identify the key components that quality dementia care programs should address.
Based on the Guiding Principles for Dementia Care, following are some of the key questions to ask when seeking dementia care services:
- Program Philosophy. Does the provider's overall philosophy reflect the type of care I want for my loved one?
- Assessing Needs and Planning the Care and Services. How does the provider involve the person with dementia and family members in assessing needs and planning the care and services? How does the program respond to the person's changing needs?
- Staff Training. Ask the provider for their required disclosure statement describing their specialized dementia staff training.
- Activities and Programming. How does the program encourage self-care activities and offer opportunities to feel useful and to have fun?
- Physical Environment. What specialized environmental features help people with dementia maximize their skills, independence and quality of life?
- Meeting Laws and Requirements. Ask how the program is licensed and ask to see any recent survey results.
- Standards for Dementia Care and Code of Ethics. Has the program adopted the Guiding Principles for Dementia Care? How does it implement these principles? If the program is in a housing-with-services setting, ask if the building has adopted the Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance's Code of Ethics.
Other Helpful Resources for Consumers:
- Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433
- Alzheimer's Association (Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter) at 1-800-232-0851.
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