At Epoch our goal with every elder with dementia is to achieve a sense of emotional wellbeing. We believe that everything from symptoms to stage management can be so much better if the elder is happy. What is also important is that we don't just prioritize the neurological or medical aspects of dementia, but create a holistic care plan which can focus on an elder's life like social, emotional, cognitive, nutritional health, spiritual and personal needs.

Implementing a person centered care plan requires the team to know every resident very closely- understand their choices, preferences, enable them to take decisions & empower them. We believe that it is imperative to know the person, so that we can we ensure the resident's happiness. Person centered care starts even before any elderly moves into an Epoch home. We take the time to understand each elderly living with dementia at a personal level. We ask the family to share their loved one’s preferences, daily routines, and any challenging behaviors that they may exhibit as a result of their condition. Our trained staff reviews this information and incorporates it into the individualized care plan, that is used to guide day-to-day caregiving.

Our team tries to understand how best the elder's life or lifestyle can be recreated at an Epoch home. Personalized dementia care plan for each resident depends on individual histories, dementia stage, preferences, current skill sets, and care needs.

We understand that moving out of one’s home can be difficult. Our team and experts help families with this decision and hand hold them through the entire process. Families are encouraged to have open conversations and spend time at Epoch homes to get personal understanding of what care at Epoch looks like. The transition and moving-in period of an elderly is of utmost importance to us, as a change of environment can be unsettling if not managed appropriately. Everything needs to be thought of and planned in advance, which helps in making the transition as smooth as possible. This includes understanding the need of moving to a care home, getting detailed personal history, setting up their room, how the elder has to be received and welcomed on the day of the move-in, the first meal on arrival, the first night at Epoch home. The teams on the ground are briefed and prepared before the arrival of a new resident

Our homes are managed under the expertise of a trained professional team. Dementia care requires a fair amount of training to every person who can become a touch point with the elder, not only just the care team. All our staff are trained in dementia management and strategies. Each staff member (care, support, or executive) undergoes basic dementia care training which includes an understanding of clinical picture, symptoms, communication, and basic management strategies for challenging behaviours.

Our Facility Managers & Nurses are required to undergo advanced training as well as ongoing training. Epoch Elder Care collaborates with Stiftelsen Silviahemmet (Sweden) as a Learning Partner. With this partnership, Epoch offers international standards of training on dementia to our Facility Managers and Nurses.

One of the key challenges faced by caregivers of dementia is difficult behaviours like an increase in anxiety, agitation, sometimes also aggression. It is important to understand that many a time such behaviours are actually a mode of communication. We often come together as a team to identify interpretations and triggers for challenging behaviours and how best they can be managed without any medical intervention. Sometimes simple things like playing music at the right time can make a huge difference. It also helps in calming the person down and reducing challenging behaviours

We manage challenging behaviours like agitation, aggression, non-compliance to care, etc., using non-pharmacological approaches. At Epoch, we try and use minimal medication to deal with behavioral changes and train our staff to try to find out a solution without medical-chemical restraining. Sometimes simple things like changing the environment, changing the care attendant, playing music, or engaging them in small activities can make a difference.

Meaningful engagement and activities help improve quality of life in dementia. It is important to choose the right activities, keeping in mind both their preferences and current skills sets. We try and facilitate variety of activities throughout the week - be it cognitive, sensory & motor, physical, activities involving daily household chores such as kitchen activities, or using music and dolls for comfort & conversation. Our elderly with dementia need constant motivation to live life as normal as possible. Music is a very important element in any dementia care home, since it brings a very positive environment throughout the day. Our care team comes up with creative and meaningful ideas for the different sets of activities. This has a positive effect on the overall well-being of our residents.

At Epoch, we provide specialized dementia care program for elders suffering from dementia of any type and across all stages. Late-stage management for dementia focuses on preserving their quality of life as much as possible. While good management can truly slow down the process of stage progression, reaching advanced stages is inevitable. What is important is ensuring they are comfortable, free of pain, surrounded by a lot of warmth, love and care.

​​Nutrition requirement may change according to the stages of dementia. At some point, we move to pre-mix food to avoid confusion of seeing various items on a plate. Till the elderlies are able to eat by themselves, we use crockeries which are solid colours and ensure that the care attendant is able to prompt them while eating. While a lot of thought goes in ensuring proper nutrition level, food also plays a role in engagement, a way to uplift the mood of elderly. We also try and organise activities which involve coming together and making something such as cupcakes or a fruit salad or laddoos before a festival!