Audience: Owners, operators, and staff of long-term care facilities

 

Introduction: Caring for older adults involves more than just keeping them healthy and safe. It involves listening to them, appreciating them, keeping them involved in activities they enjoy, and helping them maintain their dignity, respect, and self esteem. Quality of care and quality of life are both equally important. Your role is significant. You can bring joy to the lives of your residents; a smile to their day. You have a tremendous impact on the lives of the individuals you care for. To fulfill this role, you must learn about how aging affects people, both physically and psychologically. The purpose of this program is to help you understand the physical and psychological needs of older adults so you can improve the quality of care and quality of life for your residents.

 

Objectives: At the end of this course, you will be able to:

Course Topics: In this program, you will learn about:

Course Authors: Susan Shemanski Harrington, MS, PE is co-founder and President of Harrington Software Associates, Inc./ Long-Term Care Learning Center a company specializing in developing innovative training solutions for long-term care administrators and staff. Harrington has over 16 years experience conducting research and developing training for long-term care facilities. Her experience includes serving as the principal investigator for research grants funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Nursing Research, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In each project, she developed and evaluated innovative training programs for long-term care settings. Her research articles have appeared in Fire Technology, Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, Nurse Education Today, Educational Gerontology, Journal of Safety Research, and Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing.

Claire S. Cole, MA, RN BC, CAS, CM/DN is a nurse educator who is certified in Gerontology by the ANCC. She has over 25 years experience educating a long-term care audience. At Harrington Software Associates (HSA), she participated in six research grants, developing and evaluating educational materials for long-term care owners, administrators and staff. Prior to her employment at HSA, she served as the nurse education specialist at Collington Episcopal Life Care Community, in Mitchellville, MD. She provided weekly education sessions for nursing staff and supplemental training for other departments. She was responsible for the orientation of new staff and served as clinical instructor for GNA students on the nursing unit. She received an Associate Science Degree in Nursing in 1970 from the Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA, a BS in Education in 1976 from California State College, California, PA, and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University in 2000.