Bermuda Hospitals Board has two certified dementia trainers

14 September 2017: Patients living with dementia will benefit from new training that Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) clinical staff can now receive. BHB today announces that two of its clinical nurse educators are now certified Dementia Independent Trainers.

Teepa Snow is internationally well respected as a leading educator on dementia.  She has developed a technique called the Positive Approach to Care (PAC), which gives practical instruction on how best to care for those living with dementia.

The trainer certification had two components:

1) a two-day workshop which included information on the PAC philosophy, dementia awareness, how adults learn through their experiences, in addition to practical skills development. These practical skills included training in some of Ms Snow’s unique techniques, including Positive Physical Approach and Hand-under-Hand technique.

2) Eight weeks after the first component, a demonstration of correct practical application by conducting two workshops using PAC techniques.

BHB Clinical Nurse Educators Tamra Broadley and Marina Cann attended the two-day course in Duluth, Georgia, and recently received certification as PAC Certified Independent Trainers. BHB has now been able to add the Positive Approach to Care to its training schedule for clinical staff.

“Bringing the latest evidenced-based approaches to care helps us improve our service to patients and the community,” said Nursing Staff Development Manager Synda Cook Roberts.

“In providing this training to staff, Marina and I actually feel that we are living BHB’s mission to deliver safe, high-quality, people-centred, compassionate care, every day,” said Ms Broadley.

BHB Clinical Director of Continuing Care Services Granville Russell said: “It’s wonderful that our clinical staff can be trained in-house, in these practical patient-centred techniques that reduce the anxiety and confusion our patients living with dementia can have. Making them feel safe and comfortable plays a significant role in keeping them healthy.”