KCC offering certification training for dementia caregivers

Stock photo of an elder care nurse playing a jigsaw puzzle with a senior woman in a nursing home.

Kellogg Community College this month will offer the first of several sessions of a course focused on caring for people with dementia, with an option to test for Dementia Care Specialist Certification from the Crisis Prevention Institute.

The course, titled Dementia Capable Care: The Caregivers Survival Guide, is offered through KCC’s Lifelong Learning Department and is designed to increase understanding of dementia and improve communication with and care for loved ones and caregivers caring for those with dementia.

Dementia Capable Care participants will learn:

  • The types and stages of dementia
  • Communication tools and techniques
  • The role of memory and function in terms of a person’s best ability to function
  • Behavior management strategies
  • Ways to support families and caregivers

Courses will be offered on multiple dates at KCC campus locations in Battle Creek, Coldwater and Hastings, including:

  • 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays, Sept. 13 and 20, in room 125 of the KCC Grahl Center, located at 125 Seeley St. in Coldwater
  • 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 11 and 18, in room 121 of KCC’s Eastern Academic Center, located at 14055 26 Mile Road in Albion
  • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 20 and 27, in room 304 of the Lane-Thomas Building, located on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek
  • 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 8 and 15, in room 101 of the Fehsenfeld Center, located at 2950 M-179 in Hastings
  • 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in room 304 of the Lane-Thomas Building, located on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek

Each eight-hour Dementia Capable Care course session costs $75 and concludes with an opportunity to take the optional certification exam to become a Dementia Care Specialist, a formal recognition of an individual’s commitment and leadership as a dementia care professional.

Registration

Registration can be completed entirely online via the links at www.kellogg.edu/lifelonginterest. Registration can also be completed:

  • By phone by calling KCC’s Lifelong Learning Department at 269-965-4134 and registering with a credit or debit card
  • In person at the Lifelong Learning office in room 305 of the Lane Thomas Building on KCC’s North Avenue campus in Battle Creek

The courses are a sponsored activity of the Dementia Friendly Battle Creek Iniatiative made possible in partnership with the Battle Creek Community Foundation; Bronson at Home; HomeCare Transitions; the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association; and WW Thayne Advertising Consulting, Inc., publisher of Scene Magazine and Senior Times of South Central Michigan.

For more information about Dementia Care Specialist Certification, visit www.crisisprevention.com/Specialties/Dementia-Care-Specialists/Dementia-Care-Specialist-Certification.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.