Seniorlink introduces VOICE Dementia Care Program, training designed to improve the knowledge, confidence and efficacy of family caregivers for people with dementia

Developed from data and insights gained from Seniorlink’s core family caregiving program, as well as a comprehensive review of evidence-based literature, the program is designed to keep caregivers active and engaged in supporting their sick family member. “VOICE Dementia Care helps caregivers understand the progression of this difficult disease, including how they might proactively alter their support,” said Seniorlink Chief Executive Officer Thomas Riley. “Empowering caregivers with timely strategies helps them set realistic expectations, manage challenging behaviors and, importantly, take care of themselves so that they can provide better care to their family members.  Dementia impacts millions of Americans each year and family caregivers provide the foundational layer for care. VOICE was created to help them fulfill their commitment to family members.”   Seniorlink’s Center for Clinical Excellence, which collects, analyzes and reports on quality and outcomes data for the company, teamed up with researchers from Northeastern University’s Bouve College of Health Sciences and the Education Development Center in Waltham, Massachusetts to develop and pilot the program. Using a train-the-trainer model, Seniorlink’s specially trained care teams worked with family caregivers on an ongoing basis over the course of six months.  After participating in the VOICE Dementia Care program, family caregivers reported significant increases in their ability to manage self-care and social support, and a meaningful decrease in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for the patients. The VOICE Dementia Care program consists of in-home training sessions followed by ongoing consultation with the care team. Moving forward, these consultations will be bolstered by Seniorlink’s Vela technology platform, which allows for care collaboration between patient, caregiver and the company’s professional care teams. Training content is divided into four modules:

• Dementia foundations
• Communication skills
• Caregiver self-care
• Management of behavioral symptoms

“Ensuring that family caregivers are fully integrated into healthcare decisions so that patients can receive the most effective care possible is one of the primary goals of VOICE,” said Jay Patel, Seniorlink’s Clinical Transformation Officer. “By engaging the family caregiver, we can better address challenges to care support and coordination for chronic diseases like dementia and can reach our ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.” Results of the pilot training program were presented in a poster entitled “A Multi-Component Caregiver Training Program for Managing Behavioral Symptoms of Dementia” by Dr. Young at the 21^st annual IAGG World Congress of Gerontology & Geriatrics conference in San Francisco. More information about Seniorlink can be found at www.seniorlink.com. About Seniorlink Seniorlink is a leading provider of care collaboration solutions. We serve consumers and caregivers by partnering with risk-bearing provider and payer organizations to augment existing care management capabilities through solutions that leverage human touch and technology. Our team of compassionate, experienced professionals use our proprietary platform, Vela, to encourage real-time collaboration among the extended care team that results in better outcomes at a lower cost.  Backed by nearly two decades of care expertise, Seniorlink leads the way on delivering high quality care. It was the first Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) provider in the nation to receive NCQA accreditation for case management (CM) and is the first to pursue CM with Long Term Services and Support (LTSS) Distinction. More information about Seniorlink can be found at www.seniorlink.com.