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What is a Certified Dementia Practitioner?
A Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) is an individual who has received and completed additional training through the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners focused on best practices for communicating with and caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of cognitive impairment. At Senior Living Residences, our Compass Memory Support Programming Directors, as well as many members of our management team and frontline staff are all Certified Dementia Practitioners. We offer the training for any interested staff through our own team of certified instructors, Tadd Clelland, Executive Vice President and Lindsay Willis, Operations Management and Training Specialist .
How does SLR encourage employees to become Certified Dementia Practitioners?
At Senior Living Residences, we consider it our responsibility to educate our associates, our residents, their families and the general public on issues related to aging, wellness and memory loss for seniors and their caregivers. Our CDP training is just one of the many opportunities SLR offers for continuing professional development. By having certified instructors as part of our own leadership team, we are able to offer our CDP training multiple times per year. Any associate who wants to pursue their certification is encouraged to do so; We will work with them to meet the requirements, provide the necessary training sessions and we pay for the bi-annual recertification for as long as they are an SLR associate.
We asked associates, “what was your favorite part of the seminar?”
“Hearing individual anecdotes and having a real sense of how to act in certain situations.”
“Role playing and interactive participation. Presenting examples followed by discussion.”
“Learning more about Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
“Learning more about Teepa Snow – one of the leading educators on dementia and the care that accompanies it.”
What does the CDP title mean for residents and families?
If your loved one is living at a Senior Living Residences community with Certified Dementia Practitioners on staff, you can be assured of several things:
- Your mom or dad is receiving sensitive, informed care by a trained and certified healthcare professional who is passionate about working with seniors
- Certified Dementia Practitioners are trained to work with seniors with elevated fall risks, helping to reduce the risk for injury during care
- CDP certified professionals are knowledgeable about the appropriate activities for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia and will work to provide engaging social and physical programming that meets their needs
- We know that living with and caring for a loved one with dementia is not easy, but our CDP professionals are able to provide sensitive psychosocial support to our residents and their families
- Lastly, our on-staff CDP professionals are educated and trained in the areas of end of life care and comfort measures for residents experiencing end stage dementia