EDCON SPONSORED EVENTS AND GUESTS

We are proud (as you might suspect) of what we teach in regard to dementia care, but we also know…we don't know everything.

Years ago, we made a decision to invite outstanding speakers (we have actually heard) to our hometown, Kansas City, and deliver international quality presentations for our friends and neighbors.

Here are summaries of what we have done so far:
(listed in order of most recent first)

• John Killick (England) and Kate Allan (Scotland), two of the best in the world at helping those with dementia express themselves, came to Kansas City at our request in November 2007. We met John in Vancouver, BC, Canada…Kate in Stirling, Scotland (www.dementiapositive.co.uk). We knew immediately we had to get them to Kansas City. Because we titled the conference “Creating Beauty in Dementia Care,” we also asked our friend and premier music therapist, Barry Bernstein, to lead a drum circle (www.healthysounds.com). Those who attended learned advanced techniques for engaging people with dementia, including the powerful use of poetry and rhythm (watch video). It was an absolutely magical event… one after another, participants approached us saying, “Wow! What a day.”

• Jolene Brackey is a Midwest girl with a simple but powerful message…as evidenced by her interview on Good Morning America with Dianne Sawyer. She shares valuable observations (about elders living with dementia) and advice in her book, Creating Moments of Joy. In September 2004, we invited Jolene to join us in Kansas City, and the full day collaboration was a fantastic experience! Participants left with a different attitude about caregiving, confident they could do what she suggested. (www.enhancedmoments.com)

• Jane Verity has earned the name “Australia's Leading Lady of Dementia Care” for many good reasons. Her Spark of Life concept has been a change agent around the world. She won the Australia National Speaker Association award for Speaker of the Year, she blew the doors off an International Alzheimer's Conference in Washington, DC…and she accepted our offer to visit Kansas City in April 2004 to share some of her wisdom. Those who attended Jane's program that day still talk about the importance of “seeing with our hearts” and often practice the “seven second hug.”  (www.dementiacareaustralia.com)

We have exciting plans for late 2008 and 2009. Our “special” programs have limited enrollment because we want maximum interaction with our guest speaker.  Watch for announcements on this webpage and be sure to sign up to receive our e-mail updates (click HERE). If the program description sounds like something you want to attend, grab a seat early!

THE SHOW-ME TOUR

Each year we set goals to improve ourselves personally and professionally. When we sat down in January 2007 to discuss the direction for our team, we decided to prioritize and focus on our home state.  We wanted to provide quality dementia care training to leaders, health care professionals and families across Missouri...so we came up with The 2007 Show-Me Tour.  Seven cities.  Multiple day workshops in each location.

We pulled together what we hoped would be some of the finest material that could be offered, not just by us but by any consultants who speak about dementia care.  Ultimately, the programs had moderate registration fees, excellent take home material, comfortable chairs, plenty of breaks, great food (gotta love off-the-charts local catering), and lots of CEUs (thanks to Michelle Mollick with NEMO AHEC).

We had the privilege of being up close and personal with participants in Maryville, La Plata, Cape Girardeau, Mt. Vernon, Kansas City, Columbia and St. Charles.  The days flew by like the blink of an eye and we learned tremendous things along the journey.  Many folks with great hearts are out there doing great work.

To read the program descriptions from the Show-Me Tour, click HERE or on the map below.

You also might be curious as to why we chose two mules for our tour logo. A little history is documented in a single page article HERE.