CATCH-ON Training Session
Rush University Medical Center’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) called Collaborative Action Team training for Community Health – Older adult Network (CATCH-ON) partners with health care providers, universities, community organizations and older adults and families across the state of Illinois. All of our state-wide collaborators and partners have been working for the past three years of the GWEP grant to develop innovative programs and strategies to care for older adults and families, particularly those with multiple chronic conditions including Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). This blog post highlights two of CATCH-ON’s online educational efforts: online education and Equip the Trainer workshop.
CATCH-ON Educational Online
CATCH-ON developed online learning for students, professionals and older adults and families. The online modules are free, brief and can be taken for continuing education credits. The modules keep in mind the busy schedules of providers so that they can be easily infused into “lunch and learns,” during break times or other educational opportunities. The education for older adults and families has been disseminated widely at senior centers, churches and consumer groups.
In the third year of the GWEP grant, CATCH-ON developed and began disseminating online educational modules for professionals focused on communication. The modules provide important tips and evidence on how best to communicate with older adults, including various video roleplays of “positive” and “negative” interactions among older adults and providers. The three modules developed are titled:
Basics of Communicating with Older Adults
Communicating about Multiple Chronic Conditions
Communicating in Healthcare Teams
The communication modules are in addition to CATCH-ON Basics and ADRD modules for both professionals and older adults and families. We recently translated our dementia care modules for older adults and families into Spanish, titled “Cuidado de persona en hospital con demencia,” in addition to the basics modules. The modules are on the CATCH-ON website for easy access for learners and for use during community presentations.
Through our dissemination efforts as of May 2018, across all three years of GWEP funding, 3,142 learners including professionals, students and older adults and families viewed the modules.
Equip the Trainer
Equip the Trainer is a full day workshop for professionals who train their staff in dementia care that expands on the dementia-specific CATCH-ON educational modules. The workshop was created out of the need to increase and enhance dementia care knowledge in different professional settings.
The day long workshop is interactive and case-based; building on the online education and CATCH-ON cases of Mrs. Kemp and Mr. Kozlowski (the cases can be found in the CATCH-ON faculty development page of our website). In Year 3, the team piloted the program at Southern Illinois University in Springfield with 54 professionals. The ADRD team continues to refine and enhance the different activities in the workshop to best meet the needs of learners.
For more information or to learn more about CATCH-ON’s educational efforts, please visit www.catch-on.org or email CATCH_ON@rush.edu.