Free Toolkit Provides Education for Alzheimer’s Staff

For the third year, the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP) is offering a free, downloadable toolkit for the education of Alzheimer’s and dementia staff.

The toolkit includes Power Point in-services for download through March 1, 2011. Each in-service is designed to be taught in 30 minutes to healthcare professionals and frontline staff.

The toolkit also includes:

· Nurse Educator of the Year nomination forms

· Proclamations for senators and mayors

· Letters to the editors promoting a facility’s program

· Resources and Web sites

· 97 Ways to promote Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week 2011

· Nomination forms for the NCCDP Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week Contest

NCCDP developed the toolkit, along with declaring “Alzheimer’s and Dementia Education Week February 14th to the 21^st,” to bring awareness to the importance of providing dementia education through interactive classroom environments.

Currently, there are no national standards for dementia education. The regulations are different from state to state. The NCCDP recommends at minimum an initial 8 hours of dementia education to all staff. Throughout the year, additional dementia education should be provided that incorporates new advances, culture change, and innovative ideas.

The toolkit can be accessed here. Please note that while nonmembers of NCCDP are allowed to access the toolkit, online registration is still required.