Meet Danielle Taibi, OT, Dementia Specialist and Educator
RVNAhealth has been fortunate to have Danielle Taibi, Occupational Therapist and Dementia Specialist, play an integral part in the development and roll out of its Dementia Education and Resource Program. Danielle has been with RVNAhealth for 8 years, working in occupational therapy and home health supervisor roles. Through her experience treating and assisting patients and families she became passionate about dementia care. Danielle is a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainer. In addition to treating patients she is lending her dementia knowledge and training to RVNAhealth and the community. We recently sat down with Danielle to ask her a few questions about her most recent role and involvement in RVNAhealth’s Dementia program. You may read a summary of our discussion below or listen directly to our conversation through the linked audio files.
Connecting People with Dementia Information
Danielle’s interest and passion for dementia resources stems from listening to patients, family members and caregivers – many expressing the lack of information and resources to direct them where to start or where to go with a dementia diagnosis. “I am someone who wants to delve into what intervention strategies and what training is going to be the most helpful for people out in the community, and for RVNAhealth staff, who are more and more treating patients with dementia.” Listen to Danielle talk more about her passion for dementia education >>
Spreading Knowledge and Creating Resources
RVNAhealth’s recent program is more than just an educational program. It is just a small part of the overall dementia initiative the agency has taken over the past two years. Efforts started with training clinicians across RVNAhealth as Certified Dementia Practitioners (CDP). And a few, including Danielle, have gone on to become certified as Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainers. In addition to continuing to train clinicians internally at RVNAhealth, Danielle is helping to take the same dementia-focused initiative out into the community in the form of training for local Assisted Living Facilities as well as for our community presentations. Listen to Danielle talk about RVNAhealth’s dementia initiative >>
Advice To Newly Diagnosed Patients and Family and Caregivers
Individuals faced with a new diagnosis of dementia can become overwhelmed by the lack of resources and guidance, as well as the emotional stress encompassing the diagnosis itself. Danielle shared a positive message for patients and caregivers, saying “You are still ‘you’. And you will be ‘you’ right till the end. The person does not go away […] There is still quality of life.” Listen to Danielle’s thoughts and advice for those facing a new dementia diagnosis >>
A Unique Background Lending to a Unique Perspective
We concluded our sit down with Danielle by learning a little more about her unique background and how it has helped to shape her passion and approach to dementia care. We won’t spoil Danielle’s fun fact about her background, so listen in to learn more! >>
To learn more about RVNAhealth Dementia Education and Resources Program, please visit out website. You will find details about various services, along with our current schedule of dementia education programming.
RVNAhealth is a private, 501c(3) non-profit organization which provides a continuum of care to people in 35+ towns across Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven Counties. RVNAhealth depends on financial support from individuals like you who believe that healthy communities improve the quality of life for everyone. Every gift — no matter the size — is critical to upholding our mission and sustaining our important work. If you would like to support RVNAhealth’s mission to deliver unmatched, compassionate healthcare when and where it is needed, please click here.
