Winter 2021 Newsletter
By Laura Spradley, MS
Outreach Coordinator
UAMS Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC)
Local businesses owners are trying to differentiate themselves these days from the competition. Examples of how to “stand out” from the competition are providing extraordinary customer service, doing business differently than your competition, and creating a lasting impression and memorable reasons to return to your business. We at the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC) believe having front line employees and supervisors trained in “dementia friendly” business concepts and communications is another great way to “stand out!”
Business owners (including clinical venues) and their employees can receive our FREE dementia friendly business training via Zoom by trained AGEC staff. The business staff will learn many facts about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They will learn how to recognize possible signs of dementia in a customer, communication and interaction tips, and hints on how best to create a dementia-friendly physical environment, and they will learn about the availability of local resources to help those dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of this dementia-friendly business training is to provide increased awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and to provide training on how to respond warmly and effectively when serving individuals who are living with dementia and their families.
The trainings are scheduled on days and times convenient for the business and their employees. The entire training takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. The necessary handouts and certificates of attendance provided by AGEC are free of charge.
The AGEC recognizes participating businesses who have completed the training with a banner announcing that they are now a dementia friendly business. AGEC can also provide customized, free, social media posts. The AGEC is available to participate with other media recognitions as needed or requested.
If your office, facility, or clinic staff could benefit from this training, or if you know a business or clinic who may be interested in becoming dementia friendly, please have them contact AGEC at agec@uams.edu or Laura Spradley at lspradley@uams.edu to request a dementia friendly business training.