Northern Michigan's First PAC Designated Home Care Agency

What is the Positive Approach to Care®?

The Positive Approach to Care® aims to change the culture of dementia care and decrease the stigma around dementia with positive, educational training.

PAC is for every individual connected to those living with brain changes and dementia. The PAC team believes every caregiver and person living with dementia is doing their best, and that when they know better, they will do better.

Positive Approach to Care® training focuses on education on the physical and functional changes occurring in the brains of those living with dementia.

PAC operates on the belief that when we understand how dementia affects people at these levels, we can more effectively provide care to these individuals at their level.

What is a PAC designation?

A PAC designated organization such as Navi-Care,  demonstrates the work, willingness, and dedication to change its culture of care using PAC skills.

Training is based on solid skills and relationships, according to Teepa Snow. Whether training is in-person or virtual, trainers use coaching and personal feedback.

Navi-Care is proud to be a PAC Designated skilled nursing in-home care agency. We practice all that we have learned with every client we meet that is living with brain changes. 

What is a PAC certification?

PAC certifications allow individuals to train, consult, or coach caregivers, care staff, or members of the community on PAC practices. We are certified to train staff in facilities and doctors’  offices the PAC way of working well with those living with brain changes. Teepa Snow says that we must understand the changing brain of individuals with dementia and how our responses can either create distress or lead to a more positive interaction. This skill is vital to facilities and doctors offices alike.

Who is Teepa Snow?

Teepa Snow is an occupational therapist and dementia care and education specialist. She has worked in numerous hospitals, facilities, and rehabilitation centers in clinical, leadership, teaching, and research roles.

These experiences helped her form her current approach to care, which she began developing early in her practice.

Teepa Snow’s positive approach fits Navi-Care’s strong belief in the power of education and community, and how supportive, positive dementia care can change the lives of these individuals and their family members.

Three tips on caring for those with dementia

The Positive Approach to Care® seeks to support all those involved in dementia care, including those providing the care.

Here are three tips for care partners, inspired by Teepa’s dementia care training:

1. Step back and breathe: Remember in times of frustration or struggle that the person you are caring for is doing their best. Step  back and analyze the situation before moving forward.
2. Respond, don’t react: Rather than repeating, arguing,  or fixing a situation when something goes wrong, acknowledge what the  person says and what they are feeling. It’s not a matter of right or  wrong, but of being a calming, soothing presence.
3. Release control: You can’t control, fix, or  change a person with dementia. Instead, you can control their environment  and make it as helpful and soothing as possible. Continue learning, change  what you can change, and let go of the rest.