Project Description Narrative:
TimeSlips is an evidence-based creative storytelling method studied in small groups of people experiencing dementia or other forms of isolation or cognitive challenge. The Creative Care Institute for Dementia Care Specialists will develop a statewide partnership with Wisconsin's dementia care specialists, offering its certified facilitator training to support their work with Wisconsin elders living with dementia and their families. In Wisconsin, dementia care specialists are employed and supervised by aging and disability resource centers and tribal agencies with training and technical support from Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS).
In this project, the Creative Care Institute for Dementia Care Specialists will work with the DHS's dementia care specialists program coordinator, the aging and disability resource centers, and tribal communities across Wisconsin, presenting information about the project several times over the course of the project through various media.
Ultimately, the Creative Care Institute for Dementia Care Specialists will provide new and timely training for the dementia care specialists and, through related evaluation, will inform TimeSlips' evolution of these programs to ensure they offer useful tools for improved communication and attitudes between dementia care specialists and the elders in their care.
Community partners: Aging and Disability Resource Centers, MCW Office of Community Engagement, MCW School of Pharmacy, TimeSlips, Inc., Wisconsin Department of Health Services