Projects

Active seniors

At Yale School of Nursing, DPEN will educate and prepare interprofessional health care providers and graduate nursing students to be valued, supported, engaged, and capable members of the care team for people living with dementia.

Interprofessional dementia care training

DPEN at YSN is committed to educating all types of current and future healthcare professionals about dementia care using a specialized curriculum. By completing DPEN training, learners will develop the skills to:

  • Identify and evaluate cognitive, behavioral, emotional, spiritual, and physical challenges

  • Evaluate health-related social needs 

  • Evaluate whether their health system can treat dementia well

DPEN training will offer a foundational, structured, in-depth overview of how to evaluate and address conditions that occur together (comorbidities), build strong relationships with people living with dementia, and establish care plans.

 

Dementia Scholars Program

DPEN West Coast has developed 22 modules—in collaboration with dementia care experts—to empower future nurses to provide inclusive, equitable person-centered care to people living with dementia. If you’re interested in using these modules, please contact us.

A Sense of Belonging in Long-Term Care

DPEN West Coast worked with the Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP)—with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA Grant Number U1QHP28742)—to develop curriculum for the care of nursing home residents in the context of the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4M’s Framework.  We are preparing and empowering nurses and certified nursing assistants to interrupt systemic racism, oppression, bias, and discrimination in long-term care (LTC) systems.  We hope this will help build a strong, long-lasting supply of staff in LTC and improve LTC residents’ quality of life, care, and the job satisfaction for all LTC staff.  The free, two-part training series is now available online:  “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in Long-Term Care” course and “Understanding and Interrupting Barriers to Equitable and Inclusive Long-Term Care” course.

Long-Term Care Nursing

DPEN West Coast developed a first-in-the-country long-term care externship where nursing students are paid nurse technicians and get clinical credit for working in long-term care facilities. DPEN is adapting this model for use anywhere:

  • Full long-term care externship
  • Elective seminar course

If you have questions about either of the long-term care courses, please contact us.

Partnering with Your Healthcare Provider

DPEN West Coast worked closely with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services' Dementia Action Collaborative to develop a resource for care partners of people living with dementia.  Partnering with Your Healthcare Provider helps care partners to:

1. Understand how to form a working partnership with healthcare providers,

2. Organize, streamline tasks, and communicate about the care needs of the person living with dementia, and

3. Reduce chances of avoidable care transitions.

You can download our flyer to share with your network and view the resource online.