A new guide offers a roadmap to nursing facility staff for caring for people with dementia during emergencies such as a major disease outbreak or hurricane.

A coalition of providers and consumer groups has released the Dementia Care Training Guide. Members of the coalition include the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Health Care Association, the National Center for Assisted Living, the American Health Quality Association, the American Medical Directors Association, and the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration.

The guide is a companion to previous work completed by the coalition offering resources for health professionals, business leaders and others related to the pandemic flu.

The Web-based training document is attached and is also available at http://www.ahca.org/flu/pandemic_dementia_care.pdf. For information on the pandemic flu checklist, go to <http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/LongTermCareChecklist.html >