February 27, 2017

Making Arkansas Dementia Friendly

In an effort to support the mission of Dementia Friendly America , we at UAMS Schmieding have taken on the challenge by focusing on the northeast corner of Arkansas.  Through this effort and in our local area, we are striving to help organizations, churches, businesses, and first responders more aware of the growing issue of dementia, how it affects the person and what to do when dealing with persons who are affected.

“By understanding what happens to a person who may have dementia and learning how to respond to them is very important to the outcome,” says Linda Willey, RN, CADDCT a certified dementia practitioner and trainer. Willey is the coordinator of the UAMS Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program in Jonesboro. She has spent much of January and February this year working with front line first responders such as EMTs, fire fighters and police officers, sharing how it affects them and the community at large. Jonesboro, Paragould, and West Memphis are just a few of the towns where the program has been presented.

“The response from these groups in northeast Arkansas has been very positive.  It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done as a dementia trainer,” Willey said. “Many of the participants do not realize what happens to the brain with dementia. It’s more than just losing your memories, it becomes a loss of brain function altogether.”  She has been sharing how this can be a serious problem for traffic and home safety; as well as how it may not be a simple process for them to allow someone to help them in an emergency or even a non emergent, every day situation.

Drilling down to the local level and empowering professionals outside of the healthcare arena is the target of the Dementia friendly initiative. Samantha Hollis, BSN, RN, Outreach Education Specialist from the UAMS Center on Aging-Northeast has worked along with Willey to educate more than 200 first responders in the area to date.

Plans are to continue working with first responders in the region and start infiltrating into businesses such as banks and other sectors who deal with the aging population for community services. The training focuses on understanding dementia and taking action to create an environment that is safe, respectful, and welcoming for people living with dementia.

For more information or to request the dementia friendly program in your community of northeast Arkansas, please call the Schmieding Program at 870-207-7600.