Hope Hospice and Health Services > Services > Dementia Support

Dementia Support

While the effects of dementia can be difficult and frightening for the patient, it can also be very challenging for family members who aren’t sure where to turn for dementia support. Watching a loved one begin to struggle with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating is hard. Family members may also find it difficult to interact in meaningful ways with their loved one as his or her memory and other skills decline.

Hope Hospice is here to help anyone in our community who needs it, even if the patient is not on our hospice service. Our Living With Dementia program educates family caregivers and medical professionals about dementia and its varied symptoms, and how to provide the best care to persons living with the condition.

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Support for medical professionals

Oftentimes, the family physician is the person who delivers the unfortunate diagnosis of dementia. Your patient and their loved ones look to you to help them process the news and to know what to do next. But family practice doctors may not have the expertise or resources that families need at this vulnerable time. Hope Hospice is here to help. You may refer your patient to Hope’s Living With Dementia program (discussed below) to help them navigate this journey. Hope also offers in-service training to facility staff who regularly engage with patients living with dementia.

Support for family caregivers

Most family members who care for a loved one living with dementia find themselves unexpectedly in that role. It is quite common to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and unsure about how to handle your loved one’s changing needs. Hope’s Living With Dementia program can help.

Consultations

We invite families to engage with our Living With Dementia team via phone or video conference meetings to discuss specific challenges you face in caring for your loved one. We launch this service on April 15, 2020, and are currently offering it at no charge to the public in our Tri-Valley/East Bay service area. To schedule an appointment, please contact our dementia team via email. If you do not have email capabilities, call our office at (925) 829-8770.

Living With Dementia Program Manager, Jill Smith, RN, is a PAC Certified Trainer and Consultant (Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care), a Dementia CARES® Specialist (Alzheimer’s Association), certified with the International Council of Montessori Dementia Professionals, and active on the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.

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Dementia Classes for Family Caregivers

Hope has designed a series of four classes to educate family members about the dementia-related changes they will likely observe in their loved one and how to adjust care techniques to improve the patient’s quality of life and well-being. Classes are offered at our office in Dublin several times throughout the year. There is no charge to attend, but registration is required, as seating is limited. (These classes are intended for family care partners, not professional caregivers.)

TO REGISTER: On the class of interest from the list below, click “View Details” and complete the required information; you will receive a confirmation email (check your spam folder). Questions or problems with the tool? Send us an email or call (925) 829-8770.

**** UPDATE 3/27/2020: With the growing concern over the spread of coronavirus and in the interest of protecting the health and well-being of guests and staff, Hope Hospice is temporarily transitioning our Living With Dementia classes to virtual meetings via Zoom remote-conferencing. We will evaluate the situation on a month-by-month basis. Please continue to watch this website for updates. If you have any questions, please contact program manager Jill Smith at (925) 829-8770 or by email. ****