Dementia Friends Pennsylvania

Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania is a collaborative effort with Dementia Friends Pennsylvania, a program of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, existing dementia-friendly Pennsylvania communities, and supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. More than 400,000* people in Pennsylvania are living with dementia. For every person diagnosed with dementia there are at least three to four people, which may include family, friends, and colleagues, whose lives are profoundly affected. This initiative works to ensure communities across the state are equipped to support people living with dementia and their care partners.What is Dementia?Dementia is not a specific disease. It is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of symptoms such as changes in memory, thinking, problem solving skills, communication, and perception, severe enough to interfere with daily life. Dementia can also impact relationships and emotions. Dementia is not just about having memory problems.Everyones experience of living with dementia is unique. There are many different types of dementia and symptoms may present differently in different people. It is important to understand dementia does not define a person.MissionDementia Friendly Pennsylvania promotes collaborative partnerships that raise awareness, increase knowledge, reduce stigma and engage community members in transforming Pennsylvania into an inclusive place for persons living with dementia.AimsCurate and maintain resources to support: Persons living with dementia Care partners Community members ProfessionalsIncrease access to community life and meaningful engagement through dementia-friendly services and supports in communities.Provide education to broaden awareness and recognition of the signs of dementia and how to communicate with people living with dementia. Dementia Friends Pennsylvania Information Sessions Statewide dementia friendly webinars Calendar of eventsProvide guidance and support for communities interested in joining the Dementia Friendly America Network.Develop and support a network of collaborative dementia friendly communities within Pennsylvania who share common goal of supporting people living with dementia.

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) is a Pittsburgh-based organization dedicated to improving healthcare through innovation, advocacy, collaboration, and education. Their work focuses on several key areas, with a significant emphasis on aging and senior care.   They offer a comprehensive range of programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing the lives of older adults:The organization implements programs to improve various aspects of senior care:Skilled Nursing Care: Efforts to enhance the quality of care in nursing facilitiesDementia Support: Programs designed to assist individuals living with dementia and their caregiversEnd-of-Life Care: Initiatives to ensure quality care through serious illness and at the end of lifeFrom its inception, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation has established itself as a leader in supporting the health and well-being of older adults. Through learning networks, workforce development initiatives, and policy efforts, the Foundation advocates for improved models for skilled nursing care, support for people living with dementia and their care partners, a robust long-term care workforce, addressing disparities in womens health care as they age, and quality care at the end of life.Pennsylvania has the fifth largest population of adults aged 65 and older in the United States.  One in five Pennsylvania residents will be among this group by 2030. With the aging of our population come the associated consequences, including physical and cognitive challenges. But the Foundation remains committed to partnering with key stakeholders within the Commonwealth and beyond to ensure that older adults can live well throughout their years. Early on, the Foundation funded research and demonstration projects to understand whether many of the conditions facing the elderly could be prevented or successfully treated, including depression, falls, wounds, and poor nutrition, through innovative programs.  Today, with the challenges facing the long-term care workforce, the Foundation is committed to meeting the needs of all older adults, including our most vulnerable seniors, and to ensuring the vitality of the skilled nursing workforce.CQEL (formerly the Coalition for Quality at the End of Life) is a coalition of organizations including leading health systems, provider organizations, insurance companies, citizen groups, governmental agencies, and philanthropic, faith-based, and professional organizations that are concerned about the quality of care that is available to individuals and families in Pennsylvania who are dealing with serious illness, including but not limited to end of life.  Meetings are held 3-4 times a year and feature updates on serious illness and end-of-life issues in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.  The POLST Program in Pennsylvania is supported and administered under the auspices of CQEL and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation.Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania is a collaborative effort with Dementia Friends Pennsylvania, existing dementia-friendly Pennsylvania communities, and supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. More than 400,000 people in Pennsylvania are living with dementia. For every person diagnosed with dementia there are at least three to four people, which may include family, friends, and colleagues, whose lives are profoundly affected. This initiative works to ensure communities across the state are equipped to support people living with dementia and their care partners.Since 2018, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation has been the state administrator for the Dementia Friends Pennsylvania initiative. Dementia Friends seeks to educate communities across the commonwealth about dementia, challenge the stigma surrounding dementia, and encourage individuals to implement practical changes to best support people living with dementia. Through a train-the-trainer model, Dementia Friends Champion Volunteers are equipped to offer live in-person and virtual Dementia Friends sessions to community members. Dementia Friends Pennsylvania is part of Dementia Friends USA, a global movement that is changing the way people think, act, and talk about dementia.The Pennsylvania Long-Term Care Learning Network launched in 2022 in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organizations to advance and support the DHS strategic quality incentive program for more than 400 nursing facilities across Pennsylvania. The statewide learning network brings timely and reliable education to the leadership and frontline in nursing facilities through weekly webinars addressing the improvement of quality metrics. The Foundation also staffs education and operations committees to support the program and to identify best practice models for nursing homes.The Teaching Nursing Home Collaborative (TNHC) is a three-year initiative funded by the Jewish Healthcare Foundations Health Careers Futures, The John A. Hartford Foundation, and the Independence Foundation. The Collaborative is an extension of the Revisiting the Teaching Nursing Home pilot project (2021-2023), which established partnerships among three schools of nursing and four nursing homes across Pennsylvania to enrich student experiences through clinical rotations in nursing homes and to support the implementation of the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms framework. Building on this work, the Collaborative will scale across the state - and engage additional states - to all nursing homes and schools of nursing who have a shared commitment to improving clinical outcomes for nursing home residents, enriching nursing education, and supporting the nursing home workforce. By joining the Collaborative, nursing homes and schools will work to strengthen their partnerships, improve nursing students exposure to nursing homes, and support nursing home staff in implementing the 4Ms.