NursePartners offers a LGBT sensitivity training in additional to our base dementia (“GEM”) training.
Why is the LGBT sensitivity training important?
According to SAGE, there are 3,000,000 people in the U.S., aged 55 and older, that openly identify as LGBT. When providing care to this community, there is a distinct set of challenges and way to connect before providing care. It is important that the employees providing the caregiving not only understand basic terminology, but listen and understand needs, said and unsaid.
Based on a SAGE survey of 1,857 LGBT older adults, here are some of our key considerations when caring for those in this community.
- 40% of LGBT older adults, ages 60 to 75 report that their healthcare providers do not know their sexual orientation.
- 40% of this same group report that their support networks have shrunk compared to 27% of non-LGBT people.
- 34% are concerned about “being lonely and growing old alone”, compared to 19% of their non-LGBT counterparts.
- 34% live alone, compared to 21% of their non-LGBT counterparts.
In Philadelphia, we commit ourselves to LGBT older adults through board membership and activism via the LGBT Elder Initiative of Philadelphia. Many of the SAGE findings have also been reported by the LGBT Elder Initiative here. (The LGBT Elder Initiative also offers great programming… if you were not already aware.)
So, what can a potential client that identifies as LGBT expect from NursePartners before the initiation of services?
- An in-person assessment by a registered nurse, dementia practitioner, and a SAGE-certified employee. Subsequent LGBT sensitivity training has been done internally.
- The development of a plan of care that not only outlines physical care needs but paints a picture of that individual’s life up until this point. This allows the care team to find ways to relate to the client before they even meet.
- Given that the client commits to a regular schedule, they can expect a regular care team with whom they can establish trusting relationships. We take our commitment to HIPAA seriously, and this includes issues particular to LGBT older adults.
- All carepartners are trained in the Positive Physical Approach to Care, as outlined by dementia care revolutionary, Teepa Snow. Many of these care approaches directly translate to individuals who are not living with dementia. It emphasizes connecting, patience, and “joining the client’s world”.
- Carepartners working with LGBT older adults will also have received a LGBT sensitivity training provided by us.
- A continuous relationship with NursePartners admin throughout the entirety of their time with us. We are an open book, with 24/7 effective hours of operation. Yes, we in admin sleep, but never all at the same time!
- We are locally owned and have been hard at work since 2002. Since then, we have developed a network of providers that have also earned our trust. We are happy to share these resources with you if they are needed.