2022 Spring Alzheimer’s Conference 

Dementia Care:

Empowering Your Best Self

Offered in collaboration with the

Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter

Date:    Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Time:    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 Location: The Pavilion, 1602 Souix Drive, Marion, Illinois 

 
Caring for a person with dementia deserves your best self! This is your opportunity to gain the most up-to-date tools and strategies to assure that you can empower yourself and those around you to support quality care of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia types. Join us for a fast-paced and interactive agenda to learn the best communication approaches at every stage of the disease, the best techniques to assess your skills in the caring process, and the best ways to work together to consistently meet a person’s needs.

Upon completion of this program, you should be able to: 

• Identify communication approaches that are effective through the stages of the disease.
• Outline the challenges and choices of caregivers on a daily basis. 
• Define processes proven to provide quality of care for affected persons in any setting.
• Specify strategies to support and have meaningful engagement with people with dementia,
• Establish approaches to employment stress that can impact our interactions with the person with dementia and each other.
• Describe how we as professionals can effectively play the role of care-partner, teacher and support system.

Agenda

Faculty:

Melanie Adams, MA, is the Director of Education & Outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Illinois Chapter. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation. Ms. Adams has steadily progressed in her career beginning as a direct care worker to that of a consultant and manager of talent for the Greater IL Chapter’s education team. She has published several articles on living with a disease or disability, accepting everyone’s ability level, and supporting caregivers and honoring choice. During the past ten years, Ms. Adams has trained both professionals and families facing memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease and has been a valuable resource to her community. As a team leader across Greater Illinois, she motivates and empowers her team and volunteers to deliver quality education and awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.

Leslie Pedtke, MHA, LNHA, is currently the owner and founder of Dignity Quotient a long-term care consulting company and Trenton Village Assisted Living and Memory Care – King Management Company. She is a national speaker on dementia, culture change and workforce development as well as an adjunct instructor for Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Maryville University of St. Louis.  Leslie is the author of What Living as a Resident Can Teach Long-Term Care Staff: The Power of Empathy to Transform Care, which was released in October, 2017 and is a teaching tool for long term care professionals, families and students.  Leslie was recently the owner of three skilled and two other assisted living communities. She graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and Maryville University with a Master’s in Health Administration.

Yolanda Simon, MS, is retired from teaching public school after 36 years where she enjoyed being in the classroom and working in administration.   She brings her passion of meeting and talking to new people to the Alzheimer’s Association where she volunteers as a Community Educator and Community Representative.  Yoland delivers education programs throughout the community, as well as connecting people with resources they might need.  Yolanda, who was a caregiver to her mother while she was battling Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years, is passionate about helping those in similar situations.

Monica Vest Wheeler, BS, is a renowned author, photographer and expert speaker.  Authoring volumes on coping with cancer, Alzheimer’s and stroke, this former newspaper reporter and editor has written hundreds of posts about the real experiences of individuals and families facing catastrophic health events. Since 2008, she’s been a volunteer and photographer at about 160 stroke and brain injury camps across the United States. Also an avid historian, she has created nearly a dozen regional and institutional history books in the Peoria, Illinois, area. She knows how to dig deep into facts AND feelings.  Unafraid of asking and answering tough questions, Monica says aloud what most people are hesitant to address about these life issues. She delves into the raw emotions of these engagements, as she encourages people to acknowledge and communicate the essence of what makes us human … and grasp how life is too precious to be wasted in anger, grief, sadness, loneliness and blame.

Conflict of Interest Policy Statement:   Faculty participating in this program are expected to disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict(s) or unlabeled use related to the content of their presentations.