The University of Southern Indiana Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) is hosting free workshops for both family caregivers and direct care providers in rural areas of southwest Indiana on Wednesday and Thursday, April 12-13. The education is the result of a collaboration with Teepa Snow and her company, Positive Approach® to Care (PAC), to improve the lives of people living with dementia and transform the culture of dementia care.
Snow, an occupational therapist from North Carolina, developed the PAC training model to support a skills-based approach to dementia education. She shares new information in a manner that anyone connected to dementia can understand brain change and ways to offer support.
Dr. Katie Ehlman, Professor of Gerontology and GWEP Director, said USI began a partnership with Snow and her team in 2013 when Snow was a keynote presenter at USI’s annual Mid-America Institute on Aging and Wellness. “Through the GWEP, USI is committed to reaching rural communities in southwest Indiana in efforts to provide education about brain change and reduce stigma about dementia,” says Ehlman. “It’s an honor to be working with Teepa Snow and our community partners throughout Indiana in supporting people living with dementia and their caregivers.”
The two-hour sessions have been dubbed “Teepa’s Rural Roadshow,” and the goal is to decode the changes that occur in a person living with dementia to optimize positive interactions and support family members, friends and neighbors.
Below is the Roadshow schedule:
Vincennes
9:30-11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, April 12
Green Activities Center, Vincennes University, 120 W Harrison Street
Petersburg
2:30-4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 12
Petersburg Community Church, 420 E Illinois Street
Rockport
9:30-11:30 a.m. CT Thursday, April 13
Trinity United Methodist Church, 124 S 5th Street
In 2019, USI received a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to implement the GWEP. The learning opportunities with Snow are one aspect of the GWEP, which is also focused on creating dementia friendly communities in Petersburg, Rockport, Tell City and Evansville and integrating geriatrics into primary care.
To register for the dementia workshops, visit USI.edu/gwep/roadshow.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,691,706 million with zero percentage financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.