Sonya Barsness, Gerontologist of Sonya Barsness Consulting, LLC, will be presenting a two-part series geared toward family members of people living with dementia. The presentations are open to the residents of Harbor’s Edge and the community at large to spread awareness and education.
Harbor’s Edge Retirement Community will be hosting a series of two presentations on person-centered dementia care. The topics will be “Living Well with Dementia” and “Being with People with Dementia Where They Are.” The speaker will overview person-centered values and practices for supporting people with dementia, along with support for person-centered care from research, regulation, and practice standards. During this series, she will also discuss the opportunity to redefine how we view and “treat” behaviors and brainstorm ways to respond that honor a whole person and their basic, yet individual, human needs.
Sonya Barsness is a Masters-prepared Gerontologist with nearly 20 years of experience in aging, primarily in dementia care and long-term care. She has served elders and their care partners in Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, and In Home and Community-based settings. Her additional experience is in education, programming, policy, and research related to long-term care, dementia care, and person-centered care. Sonya’s work is grounded in a person-centered philosophy that honors the unique needs preferences, and goals of elders through core values of choice, dignity, respect, self-determination, and purposeful living.
The first presentation will be on Tuesday, October 20th from 2-4PM and the second will be on Tuesday, October 27th from 4-6PM in the Harbor’s Edge Theater.