The population we serve who have aged in place due to the quality of care we have provided them with over the years or new aged admissions that were recently diagnosed with some form of dementia has caused a needed program service expansion. Dementia programming has become a necessity to our services. Therefore we have been granted the Alzheimer designation to our license for the population we serve effective 9-23-2016.

 

Berry’s Adult Foster Care staff provides personal care assistance/supervision and community living support training/assistance to the mentally challenged that are medically fragile. 

Staff are trained:

• to remind consumers to attend and or assist with activities of daily living

• grooming for consumers personal care 

• manage our population in skill building as dictated by their IPOS and ability

• provide memory care services.

• provide additional support to consumers living with the challenges associated with Alzheimer’s, memory loss and/or other forms of dementia.   

 

Our memory care program, the Evelyn Berry Alzheimer's and Dementia Program, is deeply rooted in a person-centered approach focused on creating feelings of belonging and purpose for each consumer, while seeking to preserve their identity and sense of self. There are activities appropriate for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia that help keep consumers active and engaged thru programming and purposeful interactions. We believe that no one should be defined by the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The programming is based on the individual consumer’s cognitive level and allows them to function to the best of their ability with gentle support and understanding. We recognize that memory loss affects every consumer differently, focusing on understanding each individual and positively providing the appropriate Alzheimer’s care as prescribed.

 

We have trained our staff to value each consumer and recognize the different challenges, preferences, and needs of the consumer at each level of their cognitive functioning and or deficit. Although providing Alzheimer care for seniors can be challenging we will be concentrating on consumer focused optimal outcomes for the diverse cultural population we serve. It’s our goal to get to know each consumer as an individual, to facilitate a strong feeling of safety and security at our facility. Our consumers will have supervision and care to maintain their self-esteem and sense of trust in our staff members. We understand that getting to know each consumer and their individual personalities is the key to creating situations in which each person feels safe, secure, and engaged

 

 

 Our team understands the importance of preserving the dignity and independence of each consumer. Our trained direct care staff will work diligently with the Alzheimer Association, Licensing, DWIHN, Case Managers and the assigned primary care physicians in addition to networking with advanced non facility medical and behavioral specialist, occupational therapist and physical therapist if deemed necessary to provide a comprehensive individualized plan of care designed for that consumer that has acquired dementia that we care for.

 

Evelyn Berry Alzheimer and Dementia Program

Philosophy

 

We believe that the dignity, privacy and individual rights of all of the consumers we serve must be maintained at all times and that their needs should be provided for with patience, understanding, empathy and respect, with a consistently high standard that is admitted to our Alzheimer Program.

 

 

Mission

 

Berry’s Adult Foster Care Home mission will provide quality memory care services to the consumers living with the challenges associated with Alzheimer’s, memory loss or other forms of dementia.

Process & criteria for placement, transfer, and discharge

The facility admits consumers without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, religion, handicap, ancestry, marital or veteran status, and sexual orientation

Admission criteria are determined in advance of a referral to ensure that the facility is capable of managing the consumer’s illness (including behavior issues) and plan of care: We accept referrals for consumers from mental health placement professionals, veteran’s hospital discharge planners, Auto Insurance Attorneys and Adjusters, Workers Compensation Ins. Adjusters, All-scripts Care Management Network, Extended Care Network, Disability Network, nursing homes, transitional specialist, psychiatric hospital discharge planners, placement staff, families and or guardians. The prospective dementia consumer must meet the following criteria:

• Prospective dementia admissions should be older than 50 years of age

• Prospective dementia admissions must have a current complete physical and TB Chest X-ray or skin test

• Prospective dementia admissions must have a legal guardian

• Consumer’s guardian will be asked to handle their ward’s financial affairs due to memory deficit.

• Prospective dementia admissions should be free from active drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and communicable disease

• Prospective dementia admissions must be ambulatory  

• Prospective dementia admissions may be incontinent and have additional medical conditions that are manageable on admission

• Prospective dementia admissions must have a pre-placement assessment

• Prospective dementia admissions must be able to pay for services via private pay or other sources such as MCPN’s, Veterans Pension, and or a combination of others means

 

 

 

Required documentation for admission from the placement agency and or case manager

 

• Complete psycho-social  history from placement agency, hospital or other

• Family, guardian and medical doctor contact information

• Complete Health Appraisal with TB skin test results and or chest ex-ray

• Individual Plan of Service

• Appointment schedule for intake screening, Medical doctor and Psychiatrist visits and or special programming at CMH agency if applicable

 

Policies and practices regarding transfer and discharge apply to all consumers equally according to our general admission and discharge policy. 

Transfer request shall be initiated when and if the consumer becomes unresponsive to life preserving measures such as refusing/forgetting to eat or drink fluids  and or refusing /forgetting to ambulate with staff interventions due to late stage dementia memory deficit

 

Staff training and continuing education practices

 

We have used the following tool/ manual to train our staff in the care of Dementia and Alzheimer population

 

“Developing meaningful connections with people with dementia manual”

From the State of Michigan website

 

Additional mandatory trainings are found at this link: http://training.alz.org/

We have made the following courses mandatory annual training for all DCW from the above website

•  Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters

•  The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

•  Effective Communication Strategies

•  Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behavior

 

 

All facility personnel are encouraged to participate in continuous education programs to maintain clinical skills and enhance knowledge of consumer focused care delivery system. Continuous education is promoted to create a professional and knowledgeable network with peers within the facility, with peers from other facilities and from all applicable community agencies

 

Physical environment and design features

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Berry’s Adult Foster Care Home is a State of Michigan specialized, certified and licensed 2 story gated facility in a home like décor (4 double bedrooms & 3 private bedrooms) with a barrier free entrance and exit facility. Our living room is warm and inviting and our dining room is design for community meals, community meetings and in home activities for our consumers.

Our facility is equipped with a hard wire fire system

We have fire extinguishers secured at central locations through the facility.

We have a burglar alarm system with motion detectors connected to all exit routes

The facility has an emergency egress lighting system at all exit routes to provide illumination during a power failure and a back-up generator certified by the City of Detroit and the State Fire Marshall.

All of our emergency systems are inspected by our local contractors, who certify the systems to be in excellent working order and service them when needed.

 

Activities for these consumers – frequency and types

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On a daily basis our memory care activities for our Alzheimer population will facilitate a person-centered approach to disseminate evidence-based best practices principles to improve positive outcomes in hopes to reduce risk within our power ensuring the highest quality of memory care activities that we can provide to the individuals  we serve.

 

Taking a Flexible, Supportive Approach is our motto

 

Things the team must remember

If our consumer resists an activity, we will take a break and try again later

It’s important to remember to concentrate on the process of an activity and not the results. It does not matter if the consumer never gets the puzzle put together. What matters is that consumer enjoyed the time spent on it and felt useful.

 

Before and after the in home activity play soft, low volume, relaxing music in the background.

Certain activities may work better at different times of day. Understand that the consumer’s level of interest or involvement may decline as Alzheimer’s progresses.

 

Type Cognitive programming

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Creative program design which includes: validation of past life skills and brain aerobics

Staff will spend at least 20 minutes, three times a week or a day as tolerated doing mental exercises specifically - brain aerobics In order for an activity to be considered brain aerobics, three conditions must be met.

The activity needs to:

1. Engage the consumer’s attention.

2. Involve more than one of the five senses.

3. Break a routine activity in an unexpected, nontrivial way.

• Some examples of fantastic, brain-building mental exercises include reading, writing, playing

• Simple board game, and doing simple crossword puzzles, sing a longs,  discuss

• Current events from the daily news and simple art and craft projects, sharing of positive stories

• Memories to promote meaningful discussion and encourage a sharing of opinion

 

Recreational and Physical Programming

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Obtain a doctors order to coordinate with a Registered Occupational Therapist to establish personalized fitness and wellness opportunities for our Alzheimer population

• We offer monthly and or weekly outings to encourage our residents to become more fully integrated in the greater community of Detroit

• Monthly and or weekly Outings including: walks with staff to shop at CVS, visits to parks, movie theatre's, theatrical plays, home picnics, go to restaurants on group outings, and other special places of interest.

 

Spiritual and Faith-Based Programming

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•  Each resident has the freedom to worship according to his/her beliefs and is able to choose the level of his/her interest and involvement in such activities, including no participation.

• For those who desire inclusion in faith-based activities, we offer: daily devotions and prayer, group Bible Study, and welcome visits by clergy and members of local churches/synagogues/temples.

Family Interaction

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• We have always welcomed and encourage family/guardian involvement! In fact, research supports the fostering of close bonds between care partners/family and individuals with dementia. 

 

Identification of supplemental fees

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The cost of care will be determined after a complete pre-admission assessment, complete physical and TB skin test has been performed. Levels of care needs are individualized for each consumer in our care. The fee for room and board, personal care services and community living supports are available upon request for private pay and long term insurance coverage. Our rate change annually based on the inflation and the level of care changes if any. Addition supplemental fees will be looked at on an individual basis according to the care need.