The medical director of the NeuroCognitive Institute, Dr. Gerald Tramontano, recently headed a Caregiver Boot Camp sponsored by the Kendal Charitable Funds. The program aims to offer support to family caregivers of people who might have dementia.
Dr. Tramontano, along with Dr. Theresa Redling of the Geriatric Health and Disease Management Program at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, is in charge of conceptualizing and running the pilot program.
The free initiative specifically targets individuals who look after persons who manifest behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). They will be given lectures on how to deal stress brought about by agitation, wandering, sleep disturbances and other patterns exhibited by patients.
Ultimately, the goal of the program is to bring down the stress levels of caregivers through management of the triggers.
The $20,000 grant was part of the Promising Innovations campaign. The Kendal Charitable Funds board gave way to the Lloyd Lewis Fund in 2007 with the aim of extending support and empowerment to older patients.
