New Ecumen White Paper Offers 5 Key Steps to Reducing Antipsychotics in Dementia Care
Senior care professionals and nursing homes are challenged to conform to the 2012 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiative to decrease off-label use of antipsychotics. In many cases, the struggle comes from within – initiating change and formulating an integrated and personalized approach to dementia care.
Ecumen, a pioneer in changing the culture of care for those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, recently released a white paper titled, “Reducing Antipsychotics in Dementia Care: 5 Key Steps to Success,” based on its award-winning Awakenings™ program. The white paper can be downloaded at www.EcumenAwakenings.org/5steps.
The five key steps outlined in the white paper are based on Ecumen’s five-year journey to reduce the use of highly-sedating antipsychotics in dementia care. Awakenings started as a small pilot in a remote northern Minnesota nursing home by two courageous and determined women who decided they could no longer tolerate the national norm of excessive use of chemical restraints on the nursing home residents.
Between 2010 and 2013, Ecumen Awakenings decreased the dosage or discontinued use of more than 1,000 psychotropic medications and reduced the use of antipsychotics among people with a diagnosis of psychosis by 97 percent.
Ecumen’s Awakenings program, which won the 2014 LeadingAge Excellence in Dementia Care Award, is used in all 15 Ecumen nursing homes. It is now being introduced to 14 assisted living communities.
Top 5 Blog Posts — April 27
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Lecil Arends
Ecumen honors Lecil Arends, a resident of Ecumen Meadows in Worthington, Minn., who is 101.
Ecumen Pines Resident Hazel Runke Gives a Warm Welcome To Hutchinson’s Newborns
Hazel Runke, a resident at Ecumen Pines in Hutchinson, has found an important purpose in her life — welcoming newborn babies into the world with hand-knitted caps and booties.
Kylie Johnson’s Astounding Feat at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes
Kylie Johnson, the Housing Manager at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes, braced herself. The government auditor has just finished an extensive examination and was ready to report. The results were astonishing.
Ecumen Lakeshore Resident Bob McFarlin Recalls His Career as a State Legislator and Bridge Builder
Former State Rep. Robert (Bob) McFarlin, now a resident at Ecumen Lakeshore in Duluth, was a rarity in the Minnesota Legislature. He was a bridge builder — in both his primary occupation and his political life.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Lucille Ekstrand
Ecumen honors Lucille Ekstrand, a resident of Ecumen North Branch, who is 100.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Ecumen Lakeshore Resident Bob McFarlin Recalls His Career as a State Legislator and Bridge Builder
Former State Rep. Robert (Bob) McFarlin, now a resident at Ecumen Lakeshore in Duluth, was a rarity in the Minnesota Legislature. He was a bridge builder — in both his primary occupation and his political life.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Lecil Arends
Ecumen honors Lecil Arends,a resident of Ecumen Meadows in Worthington, Minn., who is 101.
Ecumen Pines Resident Hazel Runke Gives a Warm Welcome To Hutchinson’s Newborns
Hazel Runke, a resident at Ecumen Pines in Hutchinson, has found an important purpose in her life — welcoming newborn babies into the world with hand-knitted caps and booties.
Earth Day Shout-Out to an Eco-Conscious Worthington Agency for the Disabled
The Nobles County Developmental Achievement Center (DAC) in Worthington, Minn., does tons and tons of paper recycling in an enterprise that both helps the environment and helps people with disabilities.
On Earth Day, the Worthington Daily Globe tells DAC’s story of matching meaningful recycling with meaningful jobs. Good work all around.
Top 5 Blog Posts — April 20
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Kelly and Shelby: A Transcendent Friendship at Ecumen Pathstone Living
Despite almost 60 years difference in their ages, Kelly and Shelby are kindred spirits with an abiding friendship.
Kylie Johnson’s Astounding Feat at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes
Kylie Johnson, the Housing Manager at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes, braced herself. The government auditor has just finished an extensive examination and was ready to report. The results were astonishing.
WCCO: At 108, Dedicated Twins Fan is Young at Heart
Many of the Minnesota Twins most dedicated fans were at Target Field for the opening home game Monday. But there’s one very special fan who watched from her home in Clarksfield. Angela Davis introduces us to a woman who’s been cheering for the Twins for more than 80 seasons.
Ecumen-Managed ‘The Classic at Hillcrest Greens’ in Altoona, Wisconsin To Open in Early July
Construction of The Classic at Hillcrest Greens in Altoona, Wisc., is well underway, and the new senior living community managed by Ecumen plans to open in early July. The new community, located at 2455 Sawgrass Place in Altoona, includes 99 rental apartments for people 62 and older — 63 designated for independent or assisted living residents and 36 for memory care residents.
Ecumen Home Care Director Frances Fernandez Brings Her Mission to Minnesota
Frances Fernandez, the director of Ecumen Home Care Twin Cities, is a woman on a mission. Always has been. That’s how she came to Minnesota, just in time for winter, after living most of her life between Puerto Rico and Florida. When she moved here last August, people would look at her incredulously and ask: “Why?” For Frances the decision was easy because she’s motivated by mission, not weather.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Lucille Ekstrand
Ecumen honors Lucille Ekstrand, a resident of Ecumen North Branch, who is 100.
Kylie Johnson’s Astounding Feat at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes
Kylie Johnson, the Housing Manager at Ecumen Lamplighter Manor in Detroit Lakes, braced herself for the results of an annual government audit. The report was shocking -- in a good way.
Kelly and Shelby: A Transcendent Friendship at Ecumen Pathstone Living
Despite the almost 60 years difference in their ages, Kelly and Shelby are kindred spirits with a connection that neither can quite explain.