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Certified Dementia Care Specialist (CDCS)

This certification program provides the necessary knowledge and skills for those delivering dementia care services. 

Why This Course

(Training Requirement)

  • Certification is available to all healthcare professionals, frontline health workers, and healthcare aides

  • Meets CMS dementia care training requirements

  • Convenient on-demand, on-phone training

  • Immediately usable knowledge & practical skills

  • Enhanced credentials for career advancement and higher wage opportunities

Time Commitment

(min of 4 hours)

  • 3-4 hours of on-demand video training

  • 1 hour certification assessment

Awarded Upon

Completion

  • All learners will become Certified Dementia Care Specialist (CDCS) and receive a CareBrains certificate of completion

  • This certificate demonstrates that the professional has completed specialized education in dementia care and is well-equipped to care for people with dementia

Payment Information

  • Due at enrollment

  • Promotional codes available

Course Overview

The goal of this course is to provide those who treat and serve older adults with a clear understanding of normal aging, what’s not normal, the dementing diseases, and practical advice for protecting and serving those who are experiencing cognitive impairment. At the same time, we provide support for family caregivers and educate professionals on ways to introduce caregivers to the necessary and available support. Also, we ensure that those who are experiencing cognitive impairment are treated with dignity and respect and are encouraged to participate in their own care to the best of their ability.

 

Who Should Attend

This certification program has been designed for all frontline health workers including CNAs/GNAs/PCAs, and other members of the healthcare team.

 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Understand the basic functions of the brain

  • Recognize if their patient is or might become cognitively impaired, and to plan and interact accordingly

  • Implement effective communications methods with the patient, family members, and care management/discharge team, not only medical care.

  • Identify and implement ways to reduce the incidence of unnecessary hospital readmissions

Topics

  1. Understanding dementia care management terms

  2. Dementia 101

  3. Identifying challenging dementia behaviors and methods to address them

  4. Understanding people with dementia (PWD)

  5. Practical skills for working with PWD

  6. Communicate effectively with PWD and the care team

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Jodi Lyons is a senior care expert, author, and industry expert on caring for brain health, including dementia care. Ting Shih is an award-winning serial entrepreneur specialized in scaling healthcare impact through technologies to improve healthcare worldwide. Since meeting more than a decade ago, Jodi and Ting both became experts in their respective areas and joined forces to distill decades of experience in addressing all aspects of dementia - health, legal, and financials, to provide accredited training on the practicals of dementia care, backed by evidence-based approaches, to scale knowledge dissemination.

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JODI LYONS

Jodi is an eldercare expert who helps older adults and those with special needs find the care they need nationwide. An ardent patient advocate, Jodi helps people navigate the complicated, often convoluted system, identify what they need, and learn how to create an action plan. With 20+ years of experience in the nonprofit healthcare arena, Jodi has been a leader in national and international organizations representing healthcare and long-term care service providers.

 

She is a former executive committee member of the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area. She is a co-author of the award-winning book, Brain Health As You Age (Rowman and Littlefield 2018), was a contributor and industry advisor to Telemedicine Magazine, a contributor to Startup Health Magazine. She is a graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and a former president of the Washington, D.C. area alumni association.

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TING SHIH

Ting Shih is the CEO and founder of ClickMedix, an award-winning AI-powered healthcare technology social enterprise born out of MIT with the mission of improving the health of over 1 billion people using mobile technologies.

 

She spent more than 10 years implementing mobile health programs across Africa, Asia, South America, and North America to enable healthcare to be delivered to anyone regardless of income-level, gender or age through telemedicine, AI, and health workers, to connect patients to world-class medical experts. ClickMedix is deployed in 25 countries, and serves 2 million+ people worldwide. In 2022, ClickMedix was inducted as Million Lives Collective Vanguard member. Ting has worked with health systems, payors, governments, research institutions, and private corporations to reduce costs of healthcare systematically, while reaching more underserved patients.

 

Ting is World Summit Awards winner (2019), Asian American Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year (2018), Geneva Forum for Health Award (2016), winner of USAID / DAI Innovation into Action Challenge in 2016, Toyota Mother of Invention in 2015, and she is the Cartier Women’s Initiative Laureate 2012 for North America. She holds an MBA and MS in Systems Engineering from MIT. In addition, she has a BS in Computer Science and MS in Software Design and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

COURSE MODULES

    • Course Introduction 

    • Instructor Introduction

    • Case Studies

    • This module addresses the top 100 words needed to care for someone with dementia.

    • It is translated into English, Spanish, Arabic, Somali, Chinese, Korean, Haitian Creole, and Russian.

    • These are the most common languages spoken by caregivers throughout the United States.

    • Printed out, this also serves as a guide for caregivers who do not speak the same language to be able to point to a word in their language while the other caregiver sees the word in their own language.

    • Overview of dementia as a medical condition

    • Progression of disease

    • Balancing dementia with other co-morbidities

    • We like to say that it all begins with how you open the door. What used to be known as common courtesy and etiquette becomes a vital communication tool when dealing with someone with cognitive impairment.

    • Many of the dementias such as CTE, FTD, and others have behavior problems as one of their challenges.

    • It is often the staff person’s behavior that provokes the resident’s behavior.

    • Likes/dislikes

    • Current habits/past habits: PWD profile

    • Person-oriented, not just task-oriented

    • PWD's regular communication

    • PWD's typical and preferred day

    • Altered mental status

    • Effective communication with PWD is essential for preserving their quality of life and improving their overall well-being.

    • It empowers them to express needs and preferences when they can be understood and enhances the care they receive.

    • Additionally, clear communication supports caregivers, facilitates early intervention, reduces the need for medication-based behavior management and contributes to better dementia care and patient-centered outcomes

    • Answer questions on the full course to complete course requirements

    • Provide feedback to help make the course more useful for you and your colleagues

Tuition

On-Demand Instant Access

$200

Tuition for this course is listed below. You may register through our secure online environment and will receive an email confirmation upon receipt of your payment. Prices include certificate, electronic syllabus and access to course content through CareBrains app or web portal.

 

Refunds, less an administrative fee of $45, will be issued for all cancellations received prior to starting the course. Refund requests must be made by email to carebrains@clickmedix.com.

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