Care Giving for Alzheimer’s Disease

Verna Benner Carson, PhD, PMHCNS, BC, is an advanced practice, board certified clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric/mental health nursing.  She is also the President of C&V Senior Care Specialists, Inc., a consulting firm that provides training, operations, and marketing support to geriatric providers across the continuum of care specializing in behavioral health and Alzheimer’s care. Dr. Carson is also an associate professor of psychiatric mental health nursing at Towson University in Baltimore, MD. Towson is part of the University of Maryland System. Prior to this, Dr. Carson served for 11 years as the National Director of Behavioral Health for Tender Loving Care - Staff Builders.  She was an associate professor of psychiatric nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing for 21 years.  Katherine Vanderhorst, RN, BSN is Vice- President of C&V Senior Care Specialists, Inc., a consulting firm incorporated in 2007. C&V Senior Care Specialists provides training, operations, and marketing support to geriatric providers across the continuum of care specializing in Behavioral Health and Alzheimer’s Care. Katherine Vanderhorst is a psychiatric nurse with years of clinical experience in Behavioral Health Care and Alzheimer’s Care. She began her career at New York Hospital Cornell-Medical Center Payne Whitney Clinic. She wrote two studies on the effectiveness of psychiatric home care. Prior to working in home care she worked in pro duct development and marketing for a Fortune 500 company Pharmaceutical Company. In her 15 years with a National Home Care Provider she served as a Sales Director over 6 Northeast States and General Manager over a $20 million market in Western New York . Harold G. Koenig, MD, MHSc completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, his medical school training at the University of California at San Francisco, and his geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and biostatistics training at Duke University Medical Center. He is board certified in general psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry and geriatric medicine, and is on the faculty at Duke as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and associate professor of medicine, and is on the faculty at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as a distinguished adjunct professor. He is also a registered nurse. Dr.Koenig is director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center.

Going Back to the Beginning-The Theory of Retrogenesis.- There is No such Thing as a “Little Dementia”.- If I Knew My Loved one was in Pain….-Dementia: Strips Individuals of All Skills.- Help! My Mother is Lost and I Can’t Find Her.- Getting Food in….And Getting it Out.- Sexuality and Intimacy in those with Dementia.- Communication Commandments.- Whispering Hope and Faith: Still Small Voices for the Alzheimer’s Journey.- What Else?...Keeping Good Records; Sundowning; Taking Away the Keys; Making Placement Decisions; Controlling the Money.- Thinking Outside of the Box – Joyce’s Story.