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The
Best Friends model has been adopted by many programs and family
members around the world.
Most
notably, in the last several years the Best Friends philosophy has
been named a best practice by the states of Oregon and Maine and
widely adopted by dementia care programs in those areas. The Calgary
Alzheimer's Society has also embarked on a major "train the
trainer" and Best Friends program to improve the quality of
dementia care in Alzheimer's programs.
The
philosophy is practiced also at many adult day programs including
EOC Adult Day Care in San Luis Obispo County, California and the
Best Friends Day Program in Lexington, Kentucky. Other sites practicing
the model include Highgate Senior Living with communities in Washington,
Oregon, Montana and California.
Calgary
Alzheimer Society Findings Support the Value of Best Friends
in Long-Term Care
The
Alzheimer Society of Calgary in Canda has undertaken a major
initiative with its Dementia Care Training Centre. The Centre
has adopted the Best Friends philosophy of care in its programs
and support of local long-term care families, residents and
staff. The Centre teaches the Best Friends approach and encourages
long-term care residential and day programs to learn and use
this philosophy of care.
An
evaluation survey from professional staff who participated
in the program revealed the following results:
- 100%
of respondents stated that the Best Friends™ Approach
has improved the delivery of care to persons with dementia
- 58%
identified that the principles of the best Friends Approach
have been integrated into the organizational structure of
their facility/agency.
- 100%
of respondents stated that their expectations for the program
were met.
For
more information, see www.alzheimercalgary.com. |
A
Dignified Life…
"A
Dignified Life is a Compassionate, well-written and extremely
valuable resource. Using the Best Friends approach outlined
in the book, caregivers are provided with a wide range of
practical tools and strategies for how to deal with the many
challenges of coping with this difficult disease. I highly
recommend A Dignified Life both for professionals
and family caregivers."
—Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. President
of Age Wave
"A
Dignified Life is supportive and practical, offering a down-to-earth,
comprehensive approach for providing care for people with
Alzheimer's disease."
—Robert Butler, MD, founding
director of the National Institute on Aging and Pulitzer-Prize
winning author of Why Survive? Being Old in America
"A
must read for all those who care for people with dementia.
I give it a five star rating."
—David
Snowdon, Ph.D., author of Aging with Grace
and Director of the Nun Study.
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What
others are saying
about Best Friends…
"As
a neurologist, I dream about the day that we will find a
cure for Alzheimer's disease. Until that time, the Best
Friends approach is here to give families the practical
tools for bringing out the best in persons with Alzheimer's
disease."
–Donna Masterman,
MD, past clinical Core Director, UCLA Alzheimer's Disease
Research Center.
"Our
facility has adopted the Best Friends model with great success.
It has inspired us to move from task-oriented care to people
care. There is an atmosphere of excitement and joy as we
see residents and staff responding."
–Karen Wyan, Laurel
Heights Home for the Elderly, London, KY
"I
believe the Best Friends model can be summed up by the qualities
of total acceptance of each individual and just being there
whatever the situation may be."
–Gayle Pennington,
Riverside Adult Day Program, Wilmington, DE
"Highgate
Senior Living has embraced Best Friends as our core program
philosophy. Our activities have been transformed by this
person-centered approach. It has helped our staff connect
to residents as Best Friends and is a program that really
works ."
–Sheryl Sparks,
Vice President, Highgate Senior Living, Vancouver, BC, Canada |
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