In-Service Training

Nursing homes and hospitals from throughout Indiana have improved the quality of life for their employees and those patients who have HD. They have done so by opening their doors for inservice training focusing on Huntington's Disease. The social worker spends from 45 to 90 minutes assisting the caretakers at these facilities. All staff members are encouraged to attend. Housekeepers, dining employees, RD's, speech pathologists, nurses, administrators, and social workers all benefit from the information taught at the trainings.

Learning more about the disease helps the care takers improve the care which they provide. This, in turn, makes their jobs easier and more effective. The better care improves the patients life. With these improvements, the family of the patient are more at ease and more confident in the care provided by the facility staff. When the facilities take advantage of this service provided by the chapter, everyone benefits !

As part of the training, a Pre-test and a Post-test are administered. This step allows the training to be recognized by some sanctioning commissions. Please check with your governing body for specific regulations. An evaluation of the training is also distributed for the participants to complete. The comments and suggestions made by the staff members have helped to improve the training for future participants.

Due to the 24 hour - 7 day nature of healthcare, not all caretakers are able to attend the same session. Therefore, the chapter is very flexible with regard to the number and time of day for inservice training.

Please, if you have a patient who has Huntington's Disease, or if you have an interest in learning more, contact the chapter. Click on the e-mail icon in the left column of this page or call:

(317) 271-0624.

Useful publications for Nursing Home Staff:

Certified Nursing Assistants FIRST SHIFT with a person who has Huntington's Disease

A Physician’s Guide to the Management of Huntington’s Disease, 2^nd Edition