Best Friends Dementia Care Approach

Do You Have Best Friends™?

Copyright © 2016 by Health Professions Press, Inc. All rights reserved.Best Friends™ and the related logos are trademarks of Health Professions Press.

Best Friends™ is a

relationship-centered

approach to care for persons

with Alzheimer’s disease and

other dementias

What is

Copyright © 2016 by Health Professions Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

?Best Friends™

Best Friends™ focuses on a

person’s rights, dignity, and

personal history in building

meaningful relationships

with care partners


What is

?Best Friends™

This approach has been found

to delay long-term residential

placements and help

participants feel “cheerful,

energetic, content, lively, and

anticipatory”

Why use


Best Friends™

?

(Danner & McGuire, 2010, Alzheimer’s Care Today)

is a culture that…


Best Friends™

Fosters a values systembased on empathy and respect

Builds strong relationships between people with dementia and staff, families and staff, and staff to staff

Creates a living and working environment in which everyone is respected and valued

What makes Best Friends™

a success?Copyright © 2016 by Health Professions Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Best Friends™ Elements

Understanding the

experience of dementia



Embracing the Life Story



Developing skillful

communication



Recognizing behaviors as

expressions of needs



Transforming activities

and engagements



Building a supportive

care team



Creating a Best Friends™

Environment



Using friendship to apply

the Knack of care


KNOWLEDGE: Understanding dementia and

the experience of the person

with Alzheimer’s disease

The KNACK Learning Framework™ from the licensed Best Friends™Approach Associate Trainer Program created by Alzheimer Society Calgary (Canada).

K.N.A.C.K.Best Friends™

NURTURING: Through the Life Story,

making care relevant to

each person


K.N.A.C.K.Best Friends™

APPROACH:Effective communication

with the person with

dementia


Best Friends™

K.N.A.C.K.

COMMUNITY:Facilitating successful,

meaningful activities


Best Friends™

K.N.A.C.K.

KINSHIP:Including family and friends

in the care program


Best Friends™

K.N.A.C.K.

Ensure every person with

dementia is accorded respect

through the Best Friends™

Dementia Bill of Rights

The Best FriendsTM Dementia Bill of Rights by Virginia Bell & David Troxel. Copyright © 2013 Health Professions Press, Inc. www.healthpropress.com/alzbill

Best Friends™


To be informed of one’s diagnosis

To have appropriate, ongoing medical care

To be treated as an adult, listened to, and afforded respect for one’s feelings and point of view

To be with individuals who know one’s life story, including cultural and spiritual traditions


Best Friends™


To have welcomed physical contact, including hugging, caressing, and handholding

To be an advocate for oneself and for others

To be a part of a local, global, or online community

To have care partners well trained in dementia care


Best Friends™


Visit http://bestfriends.healthpropress.com/or email [email protected]

for more information!Copyright © 2016 by Health Professions Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

http://bestfriends.healthpropress.com/

mailto:[email protected]

Date post:	21-Apr-2017
Category:	Healthcare
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Best Friends Dementia Care Approach

Healthcare