Recently, Marc Friedman Cerna’s Senior Vice President of Client Care and Gina Ross Cerna Palm Springs Care Coordinator met with Eisenhower Medical Center. Their meeting was with the gerontologist of Eisenhower’s Memory Assessment Center.
Among the many topics covered in the conversation were cognitive stimulation and care, which is a fast growing segment of Cerna’s home care services. Eisenhower’s gerontologist was thrilled to hear about Cerna’s unique at home approach when she said, “we are looking for someone to help us build a bridge from our hospital to home through cognitive stimulation and care.”
The function of cognitive care and stimulation is to thwart the onset of cognitive decline, as well as slow the development of existing symptoms for individuals afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
As the demand for this targeted stimulation grows, Cerna is providing specific training to pre-qualified Level II Cerna caregivers. The training focuses on areas of cognition like memory, executive function, which is a set of mental processes that helps connect past experience with present action, concentration and speech.
The specialized training enables Cerna caregivers to cognitively engage clients, delay the onset of new symptoms and enhance quality of life
Prior to starting a cognition stimulation regime, the client is evaluated at a facility like Eisenhower’s Memory Assessment Center. There, they provide a diagnosis and recommend a course of action, which is discussed with a Cerna Care Coordinator and specially trained Cerna Level II caregiver.
Cerna also collaborates with the client and the client’s family to learn about career, interests and hobbies of the client. Any information Cerna can use to connect and engage with clients aides in cognitive stimulation. For example, if a client is a baseball enthusiast, Cerna integrates sports into the cognitive care plan as a means to spark recall of a beloved subject.
Every cognitive care plan is as different as the person it is developed for – and no cognitive care plan stays the same; it changes week to week as we move forward with the client, in most cases, for years at a time. Plus, the cognitive exercises are conducted in the client’s home – a private and safe environment enabling a sense of security and calm.
Please contact Cerna Home Care toll free at 877.577.6782 with your inquiries about this specialized service.