Comfort Fundamentals for Dementia: Bathing, Environment, and Nutrition
Presented by Carol O. Long
Patients with dementia face progressive loss of memory, language impairment, and both executive and visuospatial dysfunction. The Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) will often emerge or become more pronounced if care is not patient-oriented and specific. Advancing functional deficits will need to be addressed by family members and professional caregivers who can provide expert guidance for ongoing care. The behavioral challenges and deficits often associated with dementia care in the home can be mitigated by using comfort care strategies. This course will identify key best practices for bathing, managing the home milieu, and nutritional strategies for the home care team caring for patients with dementia.
Meet your instructor
Carol O. Long
Dr. Long is a known expert in geriatric palliative and community-based health care, nationally and internationally. She has been a registered nurse for over 40 years holding various staff, management, education, and consultant positions. She has authored numerous articles, book chapters, abstracts, and monographs related to…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Bathing Considerations
Maintaining adequate personal hygiene for patients with dementia can be challenging if the care is not personalized and does not incorporate best practice interventions. This chapter focuses on bathing considerations for patients with dementia and new techniques for home care professionals and families to assure that personal hygiene and comfort needs are addressed.
2. Managing the Home Environment
Maintaining a safe and positive home environment is an important consideration for home care nurses. This chapter highlights methods to keep the home safe and reduce dementia-related behaviors caused when the environment is disrupted or confusing to the patient. Methods to minimize sundowning, and the importance of these methods, are addressed.
3. Nutritional Management
As the patient with dementia becomes more dependent upon others for their care, maintaining and augmenting nutrition can be challenging. The home dining environment is a factor as patients have increasing functional deficits related to eating. This chapter features proven methods to address these deficits while making the dining experience positive and comfortable.
More courses in this series
Comprehensive Care for the Older Adult: Mild Dementia
Carol O. Long
Comprehensive Care for the Older Adult: Advanced/Late-Stage Dementia
Carol O. Long
Comfort Fundamentals for Dementia: Bathing, Environment, and Nutrition
Carol O. Long
Comprehensive Care for the Older Adult: Moderate Dementia
Carol O. Long
Comprehensive Care for the Older Adult: Terminal Dementia and End of Life
Carol O. Long
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Medbridge courses.
Who creates Medbridge courses?
We work with industry-leaders, top researchers, and consultants to build content roadmaps that are then structured into courses, filmed, and edited by our production team before being launched to our site.
How often does Medbridge release new courses?
New courses are added monthly and are automatically included in your subscription as they launch.
How often does Medbridge update courses?
Medbridge reviews its courses annually for relevance and to assess if content is up to date. Based on these reviews it may be determined that a course is out of date resulting in the course being re-filmed or retired, if the content is no longer needed (e.g. a replacement course already exists, the concepts are no longer best practice, etc.).
How many courses does Medbridge offer?
We have over 3,000 accredited courses and we are continually updating our library with new courses. Check our course library for the most up-to-date count for your discipline.
Are there any additional fees for taking a Medbridge course?
There are no additional fees for taking a Medbridge course, obtaining a course certificate of completion, earning CEUs as a subscriber, or accessing any of the additional tools your subscription may include.
Is there a limit to the number of courses I can take?
There is no limit to the number of courses you can take as a subscriber! As a subscriber to Medbridge, you have unlimited access to over 3,000+ accredited CE courses.
If you are a Premium subscriber, you also have unlimited access to our Patient Engagement Tools such as the Home Exercise Program, Patient Education Library, Orthopedic Exam Tests, and Manual Therapy Techniques. We have over 7,000 exercises and over 650+ videos and handouts of patient education resources with more exercises and patient education added to the library based on subscriber feedback, volume of request and specialities.
What is your refund policy?
You are eligible for a refund provided your request is received within 30 days of your subscription purchase and your account has no activity.