The University’s Life Course and Aging Center has partnered with Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area to offer dementia care training in compliance with a new state law.The Louisiana Legislature passed Senate Bill 810 in 2008, requiring all employees of adult residential care and nursing facilities in Louisiana to pass a training course in dementia care. The partnership was certified Jan. 21 and is currently the only group certified in Louisiana.Alzheimer’s disease often has a morbid stigma attached to it, said Dana Territo, director of services at ASCA. “They deserve a quality of life like anyone else,” Territo said.The first training course will be held Feb. 10 in the Rosemary Conference Room at ASCA. After the first program, courses will be held quarterly.Workers in full-time care must have eight hours of approved training within 90 days. Those in maintenance positions must have four hours of training.The curriculum was created by Territo, psychology professor Katie Cherry and communication sciences and disorders professor Neila Donovan.The curriculum consists of five topics to be taught in eight hours — an overview of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, communication with persons with dementia, behavior management, promoting independence in activities of daily living and understanding and dealing with family.Five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 5 percent of people 65 to 74 and almost 50 percent of those 85 and older may suffer from the disease, according to the CDC.One of the goals of the program is helping the community prepare for an aging population.The research faculty continues to be dedicated to its goals despite budget cuts, Lilly Allen, associate director of the LCAC and associate professor in the school of social work, said.”What we find is that faculty is always committed to promoting education and keeping with flagship agendas,” Allen said. “All the faculty, across the board, is working harder.”–Contact Joanna Zimmerman at [email protected]