Aspire for More with Erin
Aspire for More with Erin
Rethinking Dementia Training: Tools, Mindset, and ROI That Actually Work
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In this episode of Aspire for More with Erin, we’re diving deep into the future of dementia education and staff training with two powerhouse guests:
Dr. Jennifer Stelter, Founder & CEO of the Dementia Connection Institute
Natalie Kravitz, Director of Engagement Operations at Activity Connection and Dementia Connection Institute Ambassador
Together, they explore what’s broken in today’s dementia education—and how it can be transformed.
You’ll learn:
- Why most dementia training fails to create real change
- How the Dementia Connection Model combines evidence-based tools with caregiver empowerment
- The measurable ROI of strategic, proactive training (like $9K saved in 3 months!)
- How communities can shift from reactive to proactive care by investing in mindset, training, and storytelling
- What “social prescribing” means—and why it might be better than medications
Whether you're a senior living leader, caregiver, or changemaker—this episode offers real tools, real data, and real transformation.
Plus, hear how to get certified as a Dementia Connection Specialist and receive a special 10% discount code: AL10 for the September virtual training.
Learn more: dementiaconnectioninstitute.org
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I'm so excited to welcome you to today's episode of The Aspire for More with Erin podcast, where we have two esteemed guests, Dr. Jennifer Stelter, the founder and CEO of Dementia Connection Institute, as well as Natalie Kravitz, who is the Director of Engagement Operations at Activity Connection and Dementia Connection Institute Ambassador. This is a unique combination. So welcome, welcome both of you. I'm excited to see where this conversation goes.
Dr. Jennifer:Thank you so much for having us. We appreciate it. Thank you. Yes.
Erin:So, we gotta get into some unique stories, how dementia education and activity connection comes together, and the unique, way that it is, maybe not totally together, but the way that you guys work together is really important. So, Dr. Jennifer. Can you give us a little bit about your story and then we'll kick it off after you, Natalie can kick it off with her story.
Dr. Jennifer:Absolutely. Thank you so much for having us again. So, what's interesting is a lot of people ask me, why did you get into dementia care to begin with? did you have a loved one? You had dementia? And I say, actually. No, at least not initially. I started off in the healthcare space as a clinical psychologist and working in a wide variety of settings. I fell into senior living like many of us do, and they really needed a. a full revamp of a memory care program for a company that I was consulting with. And so I started off in behavioral health for that company and then they whisked me away over to the dementia care side. And I have not looked back ever since. I absolutely fell in love with working with individuals, with brain changes, their families, the staff, and I had the. Unbelievable opportunity to revamp everything from the ground up, from policies to assessments and programming, the environment. We had some new build outs where I could create everything from scratch. It was just really an amazing opportunity with this company, and that's really where I learned a lot about the dementia care industry. And from there it I fast forwarded into, research and development, and I was able to create a new model of care that is called the Dementia Connection Model. And that was launched into the industry in 2021 after I wrote a book with Johns Hopkins University really displaying the data and the information around what made this model of care so successful. In the interim of all of this, I did have a grandmother-in-law who developed Alzheimer's disease, so I was an asset to the family as well as I had an aging grandfather. Who did pass away at his 99th birthday, and he was my muse for everything, with regards to all of this. And so just very grateful for those experiences and that's really why I got into dementia care. And I, from there developed a company called the Dementia Connection Institute, and I've really dedicated the rest of my career to this. So just really love the work that I do.
Erin:Yeah, there's so many questions there, but we gotta get into Natalie. We gotta figure out. And for those who are just listening and cannot see, she is wearing a cowboy hat. It looks like a cowboy hat, but maybe not.'cause it's a flat rim and I don't know the proper term for that. And then she's got a white Christmas tree with a disco ball on top with a black bow. So we're talking about dementia connection today. But the fact that she is an activity minded person is very present in the room. Natalie, take us away.
Natalie:Thank you, Erin. Uh, I just wanna echo, I'm so excited to be here. So thank you so much for this opportunity, to, to speak to your listeners and your audience. My story started back. When I was in high school, my great-grandmother had Alzheimer's, and at first we just noticed a few different changes and then it, it really became where we realized we needed to help transition her in closer to family and into our home. And that's really when I first experienced behavioral cognitive changes through the dementia disease. And. A couple years later, as I was working on my undergrad and was doing my capstone experience, I wanted to do a research study on. The correlation of quality of life versus quality of care, and that's really when I started to see what meaningful connection and meaningful engagement can do to an individual living in a senior community. We know personally how much it, it can affect ourselves, but to see it used appropriately in a, in a particular approach, changes everything and how that interaction is done. As we work with our residents. And so that's really when I first got a glimpse of that impactful work. And then shortly I got into the field of, activities and that's when I really started to see how training and education is powerful and empowering for an individual. And I've been in the field for 20 years since.
Erin:Yeah, it's true. So Natalie, what do you see since you've been in the field and you support lots of communities and you have throughout your career, through the activity space, which I think encapsulates a lot of memory care, and you're also an ambassador for the Dementia Connection Institute. What do you see are the biggest gaps? From, based on your experience in that capstone project that you did, that most senior living, most senior living communities approach dementia education today. Like what are the biggest gaps?
Natalie:I foresee how. Some of the trainings are very generalized. I don't feel that that approach can make as much of an impact as some other training opportunities where it's more hands-on. It's more practical skills. It's a set of tools that are given to a staff member or even a caregiver themselves as they work with their loved ones. but where you can see that gap is because I feel like they're very generalized.
Erin:Yeah. Seriously. I mean, Dr. Jennifer, you wrote and threw away the book, a generalized book, I'm sure of, of a community, and you created something more. Customized to the progression of the disease, to family expectation, potentially to, lots of very meaningful understanding of the disease process. How, I think of it from how can you scale detail, obviously you did that, you created an institute. So I'm fascinated by that process. So why, why are the stakes so high? How did you do that? take us through that process because I'm curious about that.
Dr. Jennifer:Absolutely. I mean, having worked in senior living for so many years, you see what people do to train their staff and to mirror what Natalie was saying is, unfortunately there's still a lot of communities that are using more so computer-based training, uh, to meet, regulate, regulatory expectations, but they're not taking it beyond that. It's like this have to mentality. we have to do so many hours and it has to be, in regards to these, particular subjects. And so we're gonna make sure that there's an online platform that can do that, and we check the boxes and we move on, But there's no sense of application from what they're learning to real life. If there's questions that the staff members have, there's nobody there to really answer them. and oftentimes, to be honest with you, because I've had this experience with many staff members, as you just see them clicking through to the next screen to get to the quiz so they can pass. What, and if they don't pass, they get to take it again. And so it's not really beneficial, and I, part of this journey of developing the institute and. More specifically the evidence-based curriculum that we use to certify individuals as dementia connection specialists, whether you're a family member, whether you're a healthcare professional, or a larger organization, The idea here was to look at what are the pain points, What are these gaps? And one thing that we also discovered was a lot of people. That take dementia training, say it's boring. And when it's boring, they aren't able to retain it. and more importantly, they can't apply it than to their day-to-day caregiving skills,
Natalie:Mm-hmm.
Dr. Jennifer:And so with that said, taking a look at the fact that it's boring, it's not meaningful, It's quick and, there's no resolution to, what comes next after that training. We have to be able to make training more impactful for those caregivers and caregivers of all education levels from all walks of life, Uh, different languages they may speak. They have to understand this because I truly believe, and I've been saying this for a long time. That we have to understand the disease in order to provide good quality dementia care. And so how this developed was, I, I was a trainer for other types of certifications previous to this. And, of course doing hours and hours of training with so many staff members and families and community members and things like that, was something where, how can we make this. Type of training meaningful. How can we make it evidence-based? How can we make it impactful enough that they're gonna take the information, apply what they're learning? And so taking all the tools that I've learned over the years, and knowing that. Caregivers, whether you're a family member, whether you're a healthcare professional, you need real tools in your hands to do this, Having an understanding of dementia is really important, and again, as I mentioned, you need to understand the disease process, but it's hard to memorize, step-by-step processes Significance of this means that, and therefore when I'm caregiving, I have to recall that in order to use it. And that's very hard for people. So when I developed the Dementia Connections Specialist Certification program. It was really to put true tools in people's hands, And giving them the research behind why it works, People have to understand the why in order to really believe in what it is, To have that buy-in effect. And developing the curriculum was to say, okay, we're not only going to. Give you the content material around it, but we're actually gonna put physical tools in your hand so when we train, you actually get a toolbox with sample tools to use throughout the training and to use thereafter as well. So it really is a process and understanding that people need, to understand why they're doing this. They need to understand what's happening as the disease progresses. And having those physical tools in their hands can make a huge difference. And so that's really, really came about as to why I wanted develop my own curriculum. and so it evolved into a six hour class, that can be done virtually or in person, and really It now is across the globe. We're training people from, the East coast to the West coast, and we have folks taking our training overseas now, which is unbelievable. We're quickly growing. We understand we're not the only certification option out there. So we want people to understand the relevancy behind why we are doing what we're doing, and to know that it's an more so easy and more applicable process and model of care that people can wrap their head hands around and heads around. So we're really excited to bring it to market, and continue to, to show people what it's all about.
Erin:Yeah, I, I do think. Senior living in general has lost or hasn't quite understood maybe the application component of learning. Yes. we've done the generic online training. We've done, that for years, and we, if it is boring you, you're we don't retain it. We don't do the, Go and work and then come back and let's talk about it. We talk about it and then we expect people to do it, and then we get angry when they don't. Mm-hmm. or frustrated, maybe angry is not the term, but it is the application piece. You know, I do my own, new executive director training and when I invested in myself with the coach, it was the application piece. That really propelled my growth because fear keeps people from moving forward. But if you know that there's somebody who just wants to know how you're doing, or, coming in to check on you and, and, or somebody who cares enough to listen to some things that were, standing in your way, then that application piece becomes part of growth. And when people can. Can talk it out like when next time you have this incident with a resident who's saying this to you or doing this to you, try this. Mm-hmm. Being able to use even virtual trainings to imply application uses is really important.
Dr. Jennifer:Absolutely. And
Erin:I think that's certainly a very different type of training than we're used to. on that note, how is it different? Because I assume there is a virtual component to it, just like there would be on other training, platforms that senior livings use. How is the Dementia Connection Institute training different from, the generic ones that we're talking about?
Dr. Jennifer:Absolutely. So it's really takes a deeper dive into the disease process. So not only will they learn a course about what is dementia and some of the very important information around the disease process from a. Prognosis to progression to the treatment modalities that are available right now. what we pride ourselves on is having the most up-to-date information for our trainers to use when they're training with the curriculum that they're implementing. And so even the latest research out with the newest blood test that they have come out with to dictate whether or not the individual has a higher level of protein that would equate to having Alzheimer's disease. That information is in our slide deck, And comparative to other types of live trainings. sometimes the trainers are waiting. A year, maybe even two years, for the next version of their trainer's manual to come out. And all this new research is forever coming out because we're still learning more and more about dementia every day, So with our training, our trainers can feel confident that they're providing the, the latest information that's out there. what also sets us apart is that we have a very easy process to certify. So there's a online application that is required as part of it. They take the course, they pass a very fun test. It's a test made up of brain games, No longer is it just your traditional, all multiple choice or true false. our folks are doing, word matching and things like that, ways to exercise their brain as we are trying to emphasize to the folks taking this course that you need to take care of yourself as well. And we actually have a whole hour on self-care that we end the curriculum with. Again, very different from a lot of other, uh, dementia trainings out the. Are focusing on the caregiver themselves Yes. Is vital to this process. We can't forget about them. So they're doing brain games as part of their competency test. Very fun. And then they're certified for two years, which is amazing. So there's no extra steps when it comes to certifying. the other thing that makes us very. I would say more exceptionally different than a lot of other trainings is that we're evidence-based. Everything we provide, there's been research that shows that proves it. And so we do have a reference list that people can ask, to look at, you know, what we're using. Um, but we do talk about each of the studies as we go through so people know. Why do we suggest certain tools that they should use, and how should they proceed with these tools? Um, so we pride ourselves on making sure that what we're saying is evidence-based Now. When they're taking a deeper dive into dementia, again, what sets us apart is that they learn about the research behind the Dementia connection model, which is the Johns Hopkins University Press approved model of care that we are really looking to educate people on so they can use it every day. And what they do is they learn how to apply this model of care to every aspect of dementia care, from how to communicate effectively to. Handling some of the most challenging behavioral expressions out there, to hands-on a DL care, to, of course, how to engage someone from the aspect of more, social prescribing. Versus prescribing medications, Mm-hmm. So really focusing on the non-pharmacological piece to dementia care rather than always using medication. Now, people who take this course, they learn the basics around why we would use certain medications, but most of the courses focused on those holistic tools that they can use every single day. So those are just a few. There's many reasons why we are different from a lot of other dementia trainings out there. As you mentioned the person can select if they want virtual, like if they wanna take it in their comfort of their office or their home, it is still a live training. or they can choose an in-person that's in the community. But we do also offer corporate private training too, coming into a community or maybe a home care agency and providing that training too. So we wanna make sure that we can accommodate everyone based on what their training needs are.
Erin:That's. That's really good. That's good stuff. Natalie, can you share like success stories?'cause obviously you're an ambassador, so you're doing some of this training. what is, we, we have the founder, the creator, the passionate stories behind it, and now. In as an ambassador, what do you see when you train people on this? What are some of your success stories?
Natalie:Yeah, so again, as I mentioned, knowledge is power and when the staff have that knowledge, they can do things differently. And so I've seen communities be able to restructure their whole day. Based on the evidence-based tools that we provide. To the participants in the certification course to learn how to adapt and modify things that help meet the residents where they are. a good example is, in the afternoon when a resident is sundowning, being able to understand what might trigger different behavioral responses and what can be done to help decrease that. and so those are just a few ways that we have seen how communities. Are able to change the way that they structure their day
Dr. Jennifer:I can add to that too. Yeah. when you talk about like sundowning as the example, It's, typically, not everyone, but we see of course still high levels of antipsychotic use and. Anti-anxiety use, uh, for sundowning behaviors, which is not necessarily appropriate because we know that there's a lot of side effects to these psychotropic medications. But that's a bandaid effect. Once those wear off, the individual's still gonna be in that state. And so it's teaching the caregivers really about using holistic tools like potentially diffusing lavender essential oil. There's thousands of clinical trials on why lavender works for sundowning, It's implementing tactile tools that have a grounding effect. It lowers anxiety and fear, and increases attention and concentration playing non by Harmon music, And this is all strategic as, as Natalie had said, We're gonna schedule this into their afternoon, about 30 minutes prior to their regular sundown time. And if they're in a community, usually the residents sundown altogether. And so 30 minutes prior to that group, sundowning time, we're gonna be proactive, not reactive. We're gonna be proactive about bringing in these tools to hope to mitigate sundowning altogether. And in my own practice, I've been able to do this time and time again by having this as a more scheduled routine. This is what we call, more so of this under the umbrella of social prescribing. Its prescriptive engagement. It's prescribing engaging tools that will minimize these more difficult symptoms of dementia, where it's helping them to feel at ease every single day. And what's amazing about these tools and about the model of care is that not only do they have an immediate effect, these can start to work within 22 seconds based on the physiology of our brain, but also it has a long-term effect. People with dementia, they start to learn what these sensory based tools mean. And what I've been able to show is that in about a month, if we use the same tools every day at the same time, once they see these tools and or they hear or smell these tools, they learn, ah. Their body starts to calm itself because of the physiology of how our brain works. Right. It's amazing. So
Natalie:it's,
Dr. Jennifer:yeah. To piggyback on what Natalie said, it's so strategic that we can prescribe these engaging tools rather than prescribing medications.
Erin:Yeah. Talk about a mindset shift. Yes. I mean, talk about a cultural shift, really. Yes. You know? Yeah. It's a. that's a big deal. Everybody always wants to know the ROI. What is the return on investment? education is hard to quantify sometimes. You know, do you have a standard answer, a model, something that you can say like, here is what I have seen as the ROI When companies invest in this type of training for their communities.
Dr. Jennifer:Absolutely. I wanna start talk generally and then I'll talk more specifically about what we found with the dementia connection model. But I was actually listening to a webinar yesterday, A CEO of a very prestigious senior living community, and he said, about nine months ago we really invested in staff training. We have seen an unbelievable shift in not only, of course, staff retention. He said they're over 80% now, which is the highest they have been since the pandemic by investing in staff training. They also saw, I think they're, he said they're over like 95% in census. And have been able to maintain that for quite a long time because of the investment in staff training. So they really took the idea of like, nine months we're gonna invest in this. And they've seen. Again, over 90% in occupancy, they have seen over 80% in staff retention. he saw an improvement in their clinical outcomes. so that's just general. Just to share with you, as of yesterday, a webinar that I was listening in on, with the Dementia Connection model, we have some true evidence and this is actually published in my book through Johns Hopkins. that book is called The Busy Caregivers Guide to Advance. Alzheimer's disease, long title, but can be found anywhere where you, find books. but essentially in here we look at what I did was to really control the data around, the use of the dementia connection model. I implemented the model of care in a wellness dining program. In a assisted living memory care for three months. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And this was back in 2016. I'm proud to say that we are currently actually redoing this now with four communities that are memory care assisted living. So stay tuned for those results. Yes. But, yeah, so what we found, essentially is that, when you look at. Wellness dining, of course. the concern is that in individuals with dementia, if they start to lose weight by not eating,'cause they have a decreased in appetite this is the entryway sometimes into potentially the end of life process, So when we took a look at the data after, this three month period, we were able to show that for those residents who were actually, They were losing weight, So they were, below their threshold, they were losing more than 5% of their body weight, 54% of residents actually were able to gain or maintain weight. So one, in two of these residents, in these, in this assisted living memory care, we were able to increase or maintain their weight. there were residents who were eating less than 80% of their food. And so for those residents, we were able to increase. 45% of residents food intake, which was amazing. Yes. Then from there, there were, a set number of residents who were drinking supplements because they weren't eating enough food. We were able to discontinue 72% of supplements. These residents were eating real food again. Yes. The quality of life to be able to eat real food again is amazing, Yes. Now, the facility was, they were the ones that were, they were footing the bill for the supplements, so we were able to quantify this, that they actually saved$9,000. In three months. This was over a$40,000 savings for them in one year. And this was just implementing the dementia connection model in dining, take a look at what we can do for activities and for a DL care and for all the aspects of dementia care, So an amazing result and day two for some updated, uh, data on that through what we're doing with another, uh, company as well. So I'm proud to, just, proud to share that. I'm so excited about that data.
Erin:That's a, that's, that nails it down there. Absolutely. that's impressive. I do, if you want I, I do believe that if you wanna empower your team, if you want innovation, if you want a different outcome. You've got to do things differently. Yes, and I see the shift that's happening. It's a very slow shift inside communities, inside companies, inside senior living, I, I do feel. That when you educate people, when you show people that they, that you want to invest in them, when you brings out of what's in it for you, the why component, and you see them as people in the educational training process, you can grab their buy-in. Mm-hmm. And I think that's what's happening here is. Is you're able to grab buy-in because you're not generic. You're specific.
Dr. Jennifer:Yes, absolutely.
Erin:And specificity grabs people's attention.
Dr. Jennifer:And I wanna just note too, like we go beyond, your typical dementia training. So I think that certainly, some of the other training certifications and other training programs that are out there are very valuable. It's just that we go that top notch above, so a community can invest in more of the standardized training if they would like. And then we are like that level up, And so. It would really behoove the company to do both. But if they're looking for, a, all in our training would provide that, all in that they're looking for to help reduce cost and things like that.
Erin:we heard earlier about how education is a big component of staff retention, which I don't know why we ever thought that it wasn't. but I'm glad that somebody's out there spreading the news that it's good news. But. In a crowded market in which senior living is, especially in some areas of the country. I like to say, because this is like my message, that the leader inside the community makes the difference whenever we all offer the same processes, the same services, because most communities do, Where does the points of difference come in? And I think that really comes in leadership and culture. And now we can add in specifically for memory care, the training of the staff, because training can be a huge differentiator. And then if training and education, like the Dementia Connection Institute is a differentiator, then that means that retention is held. And so, Natalie, do you see that? Inside the communities, in the crowded market that's there. I believe I, I do believe the more specific that we get and when we can communicate the story well, the more people you're going to track that wants to benefit from what you can offer. Mm-hmm. Do you agree with me? Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.
Natalie:Yeah. And I think. like dementia care helps the community stand out. it's what families are looking for when it comes to finding a place for their loved one. they want to be understood and they want that compassionate care. And when you have the staff members that can deliver that and do it on such a deep connection level. that's what they're looking for. And as a staff member, knowing that I feel valued and important, why would I want to go anywhere else? they're investing in me and knowing that their company is valuing their growth. I mean, it, it helps build a cohesive team.
Erin:Yes, absolutely. A culture that sells education really does create a culture that sells. Okay. Now I, I love this idea of mindset because I do believe mindset is really important. It's something that senior living leaders don't talk about a lot, and it's something that I like to preach from the rooftops. It is a mindset shift. If you want a shift in the industry, it's gotta start with the mindset shift. If you want your leader to be able to change and lead the community into the next phase of growth, there's gotta be a mindset shift. Because what's holding people back is a mindset that is stuck for whatever reason. Fear, shame. the fear of being rejected, the fear of failing, all the things. Change is hard, So what mindset shifts need to happen at the leadership level to move from a reactive compliance to a proactive investment, which is a huge shift. It's a huge shift because we have always been a reactive, well, let me, always is a strong word. It has been an assumption that most people in this industry, evidence-based, we'll say that, are reactive. Family members don't wanna move people in because unless it's reactive to an event. but. Proactivity is where I feel I know based on my experience inside of a community, really does create a culture that sells. I do believe it all starts with proactivity. So how do we do that? Dr. Jennifer, what's the message that we have to say over and over again to get people to start to believe it?
Dr. Jennifer:Yeah. earlier I mentioned this must do mentality and I think we have to move from a must do to a can do, and I think part of it is looking at, where do the dollars go, I think marketing advertising is very important, obviously to continue to be in front of. Potential consumers, and that's what brings in, more so that awareness that, the individual company can provide the services that the family's looking for or that loved one is looking for. but sometimes I've seen just in my experience, excess dollars going to events and things like that, that may not necessarily. Bring that ROI. So it's looking at where is the company spending some of their dollars and can that be reinvested into what we do know provides that ROI, which is staff training. And what Natalie was saying, around like that investment in that employee is so powerful, but it's also answering pain points of that employee, of that employee who goes to work and never has had dementia training. They don't know what they're doing. They are put in front of people with dementia and brain changes, who they're unsure how to interact and communicate and engage in powerful ways that are effective and that are meaningful. And so negative experiences start to occur and that employee starts to feel, that they're not confident in what they're doing. They feel incompetent. That's what drives people away. They don't wanna come to work when they aren't feeling supported. And so that investment is important to feel valued, but also to understand how to do their role effectively and feel like they're doing it successfully. You can't put a price tag on that. So let's look at those excess dollars that are being spent in different parts of, maybe marketing, advertising or maybe other types of expenses to say, can we afford around$5,000 to train, 20 employees and a trainer? and then if you wanna train a hundred employees, it's like, okay, maybe it's, a little less than 10 grand. A lot of companies spend that and more to go to one. Conference, that are, we have in our industry. They spell spend way more than 10 grand to go to one conference, and some of these companies are going to four or five conferences a year. Let's reinvest that back into our team. That need this so they can be successful. And then you start to see, of course all the other stuff you see better clinical outcomes. You see the ROI higher census again, and I'm back to staff retention, So let's move from a must do mentality to a can do mentality by simply just reallocating those dollars. Something that's gonna make a big impact on, what we're promoting at these conferences is quality care. You need. Trained staff to provide quality care. I can't stress that enough.
Erin:Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And that's a great way to really close out. that was pretty powerful. I do. Just in my time, in, in, in my experience now, had somebody invested in my growth, I probably would still be inside of a community. And the amount of time that I, and money that I have invested in my growth since I came outside of a community, it's ridiculous. And why didn't I do that when I was inside of a community?
Natalie:And it
Erin:just goes to show you that the investment is worth it. It truly is. The people need to know that they're worth it, so they will buy in. and when you can have trainings that really pull that mindset out of people, you'll get buy-in and it will, it will return you lots of money. And it won't be, it won't be like, it will come from dining, it will come from staff retention. It will come from, the story, the marketing story that you can tell like we are. Trained and certified in dementia care. Here we are all dementia care specialists here. And let me tell you that story, that's powerful. Mm-hmm. That's a, that's a powerful marketing story. so thank you for sharing that with me and thank you for, for doing this episode and taking us through the process. So, Natalie, close us out, how. How do we get in touch with you? What is the process? How do they bring this training to the organization? Give us all the goods.
Natalie:Yeah, so, any listeners that are interested, they can go to our website, dementia connection institute.org, and they can contact someone from our team if they have any specific requests and questions regarding maybe their community.
Erin:Okay. Anything that you wanna leave us with after spending this time with us? I know, any wise words to share as you close us out?
Dr. Jennifer:Yeah, well, I first wanna say that, Natalie's next training that she has scheduled on the books, and this will be published out once the recording goes out too, is, look for her training for, she's gonna split this up over three days in the evening time, so it's convenient for healthcare workers and caregivers. Uh, September 23rd, 24th, 25th. It'll be from six to 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. So two hours a night, in order to fulfill the six hour certification. And we want to, for our listeners today, we wanna give you a discount code of 10%. Okay? The code is capital A, capital L 10 a L 10. So in, you know, put that in at the, checkout. In order to, uh, get that discount of 10% for that training in, in September with Natalie. So that's a virtual training. So convenient at your home or your office. you don't have to leave. Hopefully you're not at your office at six o'clock at night, but. Some of us are sometimes I know that. But, hopefully you're in a, a place that is, uh, peaceful for you and you can enjoy this training. So, but yeah, to, uh, to close out, I just wanna say thank you so much, Erin, for this opportunity to be able to speak our peace around this, And hopefully, create some change for folks who are looking to move more towards dedicated. Evidence-based dementia training. think about the Dementia Connection Specialist certification training. that's not only a course for your caregivers, uh, but also for your trainers, that you want to invest in, and what's great is that they can offer this to everybody. So even they can take it out of the classroom for staff and they can offer to the community, to the families that they serve, to the social workers at the local hospital, Our. Trainer program is so flexible that they can offer it to anybody. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So that's an amazing ROI just there. so thank you so much, Erin, for allowing us to bring this awareness to what we're doing at the institute, and really talk about some of the change that can occur around training in long-term care.
Erin:Absolutely. Natalie, anything you wanna add?
Natalie:Yeah, I just wanna reiterate, how important education is in dementia care and that when we not only equip the caregivers, it fosters deep connections and empathy and it ultimately leaves to a better quality of life for all involved. So I just wanna. End with that and thank you so much, Erin, for having us on. This has been a, a great opportunity and we really appreciate all the work that you do and all the work that Dr. Jen and the team does at the Dementia Connection Institute. Thank you.
Erin:Yeah. Well, I appreciate you being here and I'm really excited about everything that you're doing. changing the lives of the residents that we care for, empowering our teams and being able to. Create a marketing story that sets people apart. It's a big deal and I'm glad to be able to, have you guys share that, gals share that. So make sure you, check them out. I'll have all their information in the show notes and as always for my listeners, own your story so you can create your future and aspire for more for you.