New dementia team at Hastings Manor

A new team will be helping to care for residents with dementia at Hastings Manor in Belleville.

The province has provided $100,000 toward the new Dementia Strategy at Hastings Manor.

Director of Long Term Care Debbie Rollins says the part-time registered practical nurse and a personal care worker will help with residents with challenging behaviours.

Rollins tells Quinte News, “Typically if we have a resident with challenging behaviours, the mobile response team and the  geriatric psychiatry will come in-house and work with the residents, but if we can’t manage them in the home then our last resort is to  send them to the behavioural support unit at the hospital.

Now, what our goal is with our own staff inside, they will work hand-in-hand with the mobile response team and geriatric psychiatry team…they (the two new staff members) will be able to help assess our own residents and spend time with them every day in order to develop the interventions and assist in training our other staff in order to manage our residents’ needs in the home.”

Rollins says residents are brought into unfamiliar surroundings with communal living and some have difficulties.

The new team began training at Hastings Manor this week.