Senior healthcare provider Holland Home has been awarded a $300,000 grant to expand its dementia training program. The grant will help to provide online training and other educational tools.

The program, called Dementia Journey, focuses on providing healthcare staff a simulated experience to help them better understand what effects dementia has on people.

Holland Home is receiving the grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The money from the fund is collected by CMS from nursing homes that do not maintain compliance with certain federal requirements. A portion of the funds collected by CMS are returned to state governments to support activities that protect and benefit nursing home residents.

The total cost to fund Holland Home’s Dementia Journey program is $597,500. Holland Home and local funders are providing the remaining $297,500 to support the three-year initiative.

“This initiative is intended to provide participants with a “real life” experience that will help them better understand the issues facing both the caregiver and the loved one with dementia related disease,” said Troy Vugteveen, Executive Vice President of Residential Services at Holland Home.

Holland Home plans to train 800 employees and 200 caregivers this year and 500 new employees and 100 caregivers annually in 2017 and 2018.

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