Action Team Building | Dementia Capable Communities Toolkit



-850265148590000The action team is the core group that will drive a focused, cross-community effort to prepare the community to be dementia capable. Pulling together your action team mostly likely will happen in two phases. Convening key community leaders and community members is the first step. This small number of activated participants will pull together a larger, broad-based community team. The initial core group may need to conduct awareness building among community leaders to ensure other key stakeholders are at the table. You’ll want a broad representative group of community members and leaders on your action team. In larger communities, subgroups may need to form to discuss specific topical areas, such as medical care.Together the action team will:Convene: Key community leaders and members need to understand the disease and its implications for communities. They need to come together to build an action team to: Assess: Inquire about current strengths and gaps in meeting needs that result from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias using a community assessment checklist and/or other tools.Analyze: Review and understand the all of the data that your team collects. Understand what your community might focus on and what the community goals are regarding those issues (potential tool may include a menu or potential goals and paths for pursuing each).Act Together to plan and engage early champions and others in the communityPrepare a list of potential action team membersEach aspect of the community will need to be represented if the community wants to facilitate real change. Identify your local opinion leaders and technical experts who can help champion visioning, assessment, priority setting, and acting together.Formal stakeholder organizationsMany organizations in your community have a formal stake in ensuring that the community is prepared to support people with dementia. These may include:Health care community: adult day programs; ambulance service/emergency medical technician companies; clinics; home health agencies; hospice programs; mental health clinics; parish nurses; pharmacies; and community health workers.Educational institutions: colleges and universities in your community may have health care programs Government agencies/departments: health services, social services, city/county inspection offices, police/sheriff, fire, department of motor vehicle Nonprofits that serve seniors: Alzheimer’s Association, AARP, Meals on WheelsResidential settings: single family and congregate residences, assisted living, and skilled nursing facilities.Senior service providers: senior centers, Area Agency on Aging, independence at home servicesInformal stakeholder organizationsMany organizations in your community have a concern for the community’s health and viability. The following organizations might be interested in ensuring that the community is prepared to support people with dementia. These many include:Business: Business associations, chambers of commerce, all large employers, insurance agentsCharitable or fraternal organizations/community service clubs: Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, Lions, Rotary International, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Optimist Club, Elk Club, veteran service organizationsDiverse and underserved populations: Ethnic, racial, cultural, and linguistic organizations; organizations serving low income populationsFinancial and legal planning Faith leaders: ministerial association, churches, synagogues, temples, other houses of worship Faith-based community organizations: Many of these organizations provide support services to seniors and persons with disabilities, such as Catholic CharitiesWellness: fitness centers, YMCA, YWCA, and othersInformal individual community stakeholdersSome of the most activated team members will be people who have had personal experience with dementia, including people with dementia and their caregivers. People who have had friends, family, and neighbors with dementia will have a good understanding of where community supports exist and where they are lacking or missing altogether. These people might be reached through:Alzheimer’s AssociationAlzheimer’s or dementia support groupsCaregiver support groupsLong term care facilitiesCommunity call to action/call for supportCall to Action Use a call to action to solicit community member’s interest in being an active participant on your action team.Sample call to action[Community] is coming together to understand how well the community serves people with dementia and to explore how we can act together to be a dementia capable community.I invite you to attend an initial meeting to share your ideas and knowledge about what our community needs to do to support people with dementia. Preparing [Community] for Dementia Meeting Date, timeLocation The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia is rapidly increasing. Recognizing that [Community] has a growing older population, we need to prepare our systems and communities for the spiraling needs related to the disease. The rise of Alzheimer’s in Minnesota will bring enormous cost and burden to individuals with the disease, their families, caregivers, employers, communities, and the state.The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is expected to double for people ages 75-84 and triple for those over age 85. Younger onset Alzheimer’s, occurring in people under age 65, is also on the rise. Because of your role as a community leader as [insert role/responsibility/experience], your perspectives would be invaluable to understanding the needs in our community.Please join me to prepare [Community] to meet the needs of people with dementia. Informational meetingsSchedule one or several informational meetings to discuss the impact of dementia on the community, share a vision of how you wish to enhance community’s dementia capability, and ask for people to be involved in the effort. Define expectations for participation on the action team (hours per month/attendance). At the end of the informational meeting, have a sign-up sheet for individual interested in participating on the action team. Show the Alzheimer’s Facts and Figures video from the Alzheimer’s Association (1:59 minutes) Sample sign-up sheetInterested in Dementia Sign-Up SheetPlease sign up if you are interested in being part of the Action Team that will to prepare [Community] to meet the needs of people with dementia.Name (first and last)Phone numberEmailFeel free to note areas of interest or expertiseAdditional meetingsHold individual meetings with key stakeholders that the core team has identified if they do not participate in the informational meetings or sign up to participate.Once you have list of interested stakeholders, schedule regular meetings at a standing time over the next several months. Use the Initial Team Meeting Discussion Guide to assist you with planning your first action team meeting. ................
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