Supporting the Dementia Care Sector

To best meet the needs of people with dementia, we recognize the role of the whole care team, including care partners and the many dynamic disciplines that make up the dementia care sector in Nova Scotia. We are always looking for ways to partner with and support the healthcare sector. This year, we updated our First Link® form so healthcare providers can now digitally refer persons with dementia and their care partners for tailored ongoing support throughout the dementia journey. This direct referral helps to avoid crisis as it means we connect to families up to 11 months sooner than those who self-refer.*

We received 592 First Link® referrals this year. This program builds relationships with our healthcare partners as we support their patients and become a trusted source of information outside of the clinical setting. Some ways we share the latest evidence: • InfoLine Service, to ask questions or source client-facing materials on dementia-related topics.

January Awareness Month mail out, sharing tips and tools with the long-term care and home care sector.

U-First! for Healthcare, a six-hour workshop that develops common knowledge, language, values, and approach to caring for people with

Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. It is open to frontline staff of publicly funded long-term care and home support agencies across Nova

Scotia. We held 20 U-First! for Healthcare workshops this year.

Mallory is part of our knowledgeable and caring InfoLine team. 17

Our annual provincial conference provides a space where healthcare professionals, care providers, educators, researchers and students can exchange the latest on research and dementia care in Nova Scotia.

In 2021, we welcomed a record-breaking 356 attendees from across Nova Scotia (and beyond!) to virtually discuss promising practices for Supporting Dementia in all its Diversity.

“ “It presented a diversity that we generally don’t think about. As a care provider, we are diagnosing a person and sometimes don’t realize the cultural impact this has on the person. Some of these presentations have made me think more about the person who is receiving a diagnosis and how it impacts them as a whole, along with the family and community. - Conference attendee

Holding virtual conferences over the past two years allowed us expand our reach to include people from across the province, country and even the world.

We’re looking forward to welcoming our attendees in person again in 2022, but will now have a virtual option each year to continue to reach beyond HRM.

*‘Throwing a lifeline’: the role of First Link® in enhancing support for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Carrie A McAiney (2012)

Behind the scenes of this year’s virtual provincial conference where we live streamed to nearly 400 participants.