Section 481.69.30. Dementia-specific education for program personnel.

         69.30(1) All personnel employed by or contracting with a dementia-specific program shall receive a minimum of eight hours of dementia-specific education and training within 30 days of either employment or the beginning date of the contract, as applicable.

         69.30(2) The dementia-specific education or training shall include, at a minimum, the following:

            a.               An explanation of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders;

            b.               The program’s specialized dementia care philosophy and program;

            c.               Skills for communicating with persons with dementia;

            d.               Skills for communicating with family and friends of persons with dementia;

            e.               An explanation of family issues such as role reversal, grief and loss, guilt, relinquishing the care-giving role, and family dynamics;

            f.                The importance of planned and spontaneous activities;

            g.               Skills in providing assistance with instrumental activities of daily living;

            h.               The importance of the service plan and social history information;

            i.                Skills in working with challenging tenants;

            j.                Techniques for simplifying, cueing, and redirecting;

            k.               Staff support and stress reduction; and

            l.                Medication management and nonpharmacological interventions.

         69.30(3) Dementia-specific continuing education.

            a.               Except as otherwise provided in this subrule, all personnel employed by or contracting with a dementia-specific program shall receive a minimum of two hours of dementia-specific continuing education annually.

            b.               Direct-contact personnel employed by or contracting with a dementia-specific program or employed by a contracting agency providing staff to a dementia-specific program shall receive a minimum of eight hours of dementia-specific continuing education annually.

            c.               Contracted personnel who have no contact with tenants (e.g., persons providing lawn maintenance or snow removal) are not required to receive the two hours of training required in paragraph “a.”

            d.               The contracting agency may provide the program with documentation of dementia-specific continuing education that meets the requirements of this subrule.

         69.30(4) An employee or contractor who provides documentation of completion of a dementia- specific education or training program within the past 12 months shall be exempt from the education and training requirement of subrule 69.30(1).

         69.30(5) Dementia-specific training shall include hands-on training and may include any of the following: classroom instruction, Web-based training, and case studies of tenants in the program.

[ARC 8176B, IAB 9/23/09, effective 1/1/10; ARC 2463C, IAB 3/16/16, effective 4/20/16]