Firefighters Receive Training from Right at Home To Help Manage Patients With Dementia
Cedar Rapids firefighters are receiving innovative training that will provide first responders with a unique insight to how dementia impacts those affected by the illness, their families and other care providers. Firefighters are participating in a training simulation in which they are geared up in goggles, headphones and gloves, and asked to perform a series of tasks. During this time, firefighters discover that these tasks are not simple to complete.
Members of the media are invited to attend and participate in this demonstration on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 9:45 a.m. at the Central Fire Station, 713 1st Avenue SE. Firefighters who have completed the training will be available to discuss how this simulation helps them respond to persons who suffer from dementia.
The program is free to participate in, and the event has been organized by the Cedar Rapids Fire Department and Right at Home. It is part of Right at Home’s Dementia Live™ program, an experiential sensitivity training in which participants are outfitted in specialized gear and given a series of specific tasks to perform within an enclosed “experience” area. After the interactive experience participants are advised by an AGE-u-cate® professional to maximize their understanding of what a person who struggles with dementia faces 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The specialized gear and experience simulates dementia and sensory loss giving participants a true simulation.
Although dementia mainly affects older adults, it is not a normal part of aging. One in three older adults dies with Alzheimer’s or dementia. In fact, there are 63,000 people living with Alzheimer’s in Iowa and it is the sixth leading cause of death in the state.
All Cedar Rapids firefighters are trained at a minimum to the Emergency Medical Technician-Basic level and approximately one-third of the department is trained to the Paramedic level of out-of-hospital emergency care. Firefighters respond to medical emergencies in the community as part of a tiered response with police officers and Area Ambulance Service.
Right at Home provides quality home care services to the elderly and disabled adults and is passionate about educating the community on dementia awareness and caring for those living with dementia.
ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:
Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Local Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a client’s home. Right at Home’s global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. For more information on Right at Home, visit About Right at Home at www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home franchising blog at http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/blog/. To learn more about franchising opportunities, please visit http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/
