House Task Force Rolls Out Recommendations for Alzheimer's Care

The Ohio House's Task Force on Alzheimer's and Dementia has proposed changes to state law that include uniform training requirements for communities advertising "memory care units," reports the Columbus Dispatch . A draft policy implies that supervisors and direct-care staffers complete eight hours of initial instruction and indirect-care staffers complete four hours. Only 50 percent of the training could be conducted using video or online presentations, and employees would have to complete two hours of additional training each year. Topics to be addressed by the policy include communication skills, pain assessment, medication management, family dynamics, dealing with challenging behavior, and triggers of dementia symptoms. The task force also cited a lack of transportation options for people with Alzheimer's and dementia in rural regions as a pressing issue to be dealt with during budgetary discussions. Vince McGrail with the Alzheimer's Association's central Ohio chapter notes Ohio is the only state that lacks a comprehensive plan to address the growing problem of caring for the Alzheimer's population. The Ohio Department of Health already has rules concerning training in its licensed communities that look after persons with cognitive impairment, but they differ from the task force's recommendations by not specifying the subjects to be taught, and by failing to mention Alzheimer's or dementia.