Videos help families understand dementia, supportive measures
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - John Driscoll
Carol Skelding has a much better understanding of dementia and supportive therapies at Rosebridge Manor, thanks to two staff members and videos from Len Fabiano’s FCS International.

Life enrichment co-ordinator Kathy Barr has organized formal showings of videos on supportive measures once a month for families of residents of the Jasper long-term care home. At the sessions she and fellow supportive measures advocate Heath Heffernan answer questions from family members following each showing.

“The videos and the chats afterwards have absolutely been a big help to me,” says Carol, whose mother-in-law is a resident at Rosebridge and has dementia.

“They have given me a much better understanding of dementia and I’m learning how to deal with someone with the problem.”

Carol says she had never had any experience with long-term care homes until her mother-in-law went to Rosebridge in November. “When I first went to see her, I was virtually in shock,” she says.

She had not expected to see so many people with obvious dementia, Carol explains. “When you understand how these things happen and how staff members care for them, it changes your view of things.”

With her own mother-in-law, she has learned not to ask so many questions since it further confuses her, she says.

Even more interesting than the videos are the chats with Kathy and Heath, she says. “They don’t rush things, stay to answer any questions, explain things very well and they make the whole thing extremely interesting.”

Her husband Jim paid Rosebridge the ultimate complement when the couple was discussing dementia at home one day, Carol says. “He said ‘if it happens to me, just take me out to Rosebridge. I’ll be content.'”

The videos were in the home’s library and available for loan to families of residents but “we decided we needed to utilize them better,” Kathy says.

There were two families at the first session, three at the second and Kathy is hoping attendance grows as the word spreads. “The response has been very good from those who attend,” she says.

The videos deal with physical disabilities as well as any form of mental impairment, she explains. They give families a better understanding of how staff work in the home, she says.

The videos are very well done with language that is easy to understand and they promote conversation, Kathy says. Two videos are shown at each session and so far have focused on getting involved, dealing with emotions, dealing with physical disabilities and knowing what to expect.

Len Fabiano is an internationally recognized specialist in supportive measures and worked with OMNI staff in training sessions in dementia care for more than three years.