This webinar offers a thoughtful exploration of the transitions facing Catholic institutes and congregations as they come to completion. It considers the emotional and communal impact of these changes, including how ministry, identity, and charism are reshaped over time. Grief and loss, both personal and collective, often emerge during this process, raising important questions about meaning, continuity, and closure.

Alongside these reflections, the session will look at how individuals sustain their commitments within a shifting communal landscape. The choices members make—how they live out their vocation, care for their well-being, and remain present to one another—carry particular weight during this time. Just as vital is the strength of fraternal support, not only in offering companionship, but in creating space for honest conversation and shared discernment.

Presented by Deacon Steven DeMartino

* This webinar is cosponsored by NRRO and is free to all members of a Congregation with the use of a discount code. Please enter the discount code that was provided to you on the registration flyer and press the green “Apply Discount” button during checkout. Contact support@avilainstitute.org with any questions. *

Please click the link below to view the webinar flyer and instructions for registration. 

This ready-to-teach in-service kit includes all the pieces needed to teach a 25-minute in-service.

In-Service Topic "Our Aging Appetite" What we eat is key to maintaining our health, and our needs change as we age. Sometimes it is difficult for the elderly to receive proper nutrition; incontinence, for example, may lead an elder to consume fewer fluids and become dehydrated. It is important to know what food groups and vitamins an elder needs and to understand how medications and factors of aging can affect taste and the ability to absorb nutrients. Caregivers will learn the following topics:

• Common dietary concerns for the elderly
• Why changes in appetite occur and how to aid an elder who experiences them
• Chronic diseases and how lifestyle choices, such as diet, can impact them
• Foods to delay or inhibit dementia and supporting dementia residents at mealtime
• Healthful foods and what they do

This in-service kit includes:

• A recorded video of the in-service (internet access required)
• Lesson Plan (PDF) Presentation slides and script (Microsoft PowerPoint File)
• Presentation handout as slides and notes (PDF)
• 4-page summary of presentation (PDF)
• Pre-test (PDF)
• 4 post-tests with 5 questions each and answer key (PDF)
• Follow-up (PDF)
• Certificate Template (PDF)

This ready-to-teach in-service kit includes all the pieces needed to teach a 25-minute in-service.

In-Service Topic "Behaviors: Wandering and Verbal Disruption" Unchecked verbal disruption will make the unit an unbearably stressful home for residents and workplace for caregivers. Wandering can pose health and safety risks, resulting in disastrous consequences if a resident elopes. Provide your residents and staff with a safer and more pleasant environment through proactive education. Staff will first learn to identify when wandering is or is not a problem and several interventions unique to wandering and verbal disruption. They will then gain a person-centered understanding of why residents exhibit these behaviors. Then, the following six interventions are presented in a step-by-step format:

• Increasing the structure of a resident’s schedule
• Cognitive bins/busy boxes
• Doll therapy
• Photo albums
• Simulated presence of a family member
• Massage therapy/aromatherapy

This in-service kit includes:

• A recorded video of the in-service (internet access required)
• Lesson Plan (PDF) Presentation slides and script (Microsoft PowerPoint File)
• Presentation handout as slides and notes (PDF)
• 4-page summary of presentation (PDF)
• Pre-test (PDF)
• 4 post-tests with 5 questions each and answer key (PDF)
• Follow-up (PDF)
• Certificate Template (PDF)

This ready-to-teach in-service kit includes all the pieces needed to teach a 25-minute in-service.

How many times have you heard anyone say, “Boy, I can’t wait until I am 85 and have to go to a nursing home”? In this in-service we will look at how our residents are affected by moving into our, or any, nursing home. We will examine why being depressed and appearing to be lost is, unfortunately, a standard reaction. We will discuss how residents who feel lost in an unfamiliar building, who have little control over what they do or what is done to them, and who feel isolated from those they love can suffer from severe and chronic stress. We will also look at what we can do, as caregivers, to reduce these negative feelings by individualizing care. We have much to offer to our residents that will reduce new resident depression and behaviors.

This in-service kit includes:

• A recorded video of the in-service (internet access required)
• Lesson Plan (PDF) Presentation slides and script (Microsoft PowerPoint File)
• Presentation handout as slides and notes (PDF)
• 4-page summary of presentation (PDF)
• Pre-test (PDF)
• 4 post-tests with 5 questions each and answer key (PDF)
• Follow-up (PDF)
• Certificate Template (PDF)

This ready-to-teach in-service kit includes all the pieces needed to teach a 25-minute in-service.

The following presentation is one of a series of in-services provided by the Avila Institute of Gerontology to keep member organizations knowledgeable on topics of aging and behavior. In this in-service, we will discuss dementia, how it affects the brain, and the different stages of dementia.

This in-service kit includes:

• A recorded video of the in-service (internet access required)
• Lesson Plan (PDF) Presentation slides and script (Microsoft PowerPoint File)
• Presentation handout as slides and notes (PDF)
• 4-page summary of presentation (PDF)
• Pre-test (PDF)
• 4 post-tests with 5 questions each and answer key (PDF)
• Follow-up (PDF)
• Certificate Template (PDF)

This ready-to-teach in-service kit includes all the pieces needed to teach a 25-minute in-service.

In-Service Topic "Managing Mood and Behavior with Music" Music is the most effective tool available to assist residents in managing their moods and behaviors. We will provide you with background on and use of 10 interventions any caregiver can use to help residents avoid or reduce unwanted behaviors such as resisting care, anxiety, depression, and even reducing aggression. We will talk about why music works… how to set it up, and how to observe and adjust it for maximum support. We must remember… that just like any interventions we do to adjust behavior… getting maximum benefit may require some trial and error to adjust the intervention for maximum efficacy.

This in-service kit includes:

• A recorded video of the in-service (internet access required)
• Lesson Plan (PDF) Presentation slides and script (Microsoft PowerPoint File)
• Presentation handout as slides and notes (PDF)
• 4-page summary of presentation (PDF)
• Pre-test (PDF)
• 4 post-tests with 5 questions each and answer key (PDF)
• Follow-up (PDF)
• Certificate Template (PDF)

Webinar Description

In this session, Dr. Comfort will discuss when to refer residents to end of life care. He will review rate of decline—especially for those who have cancer—and address topics such as pain management, delirium, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, and nutritional issues. Dr. Comfort will also review patient decisions at the end of life, such as DNR (do not resuscitate), cognitive screening, palliative sedation and care.

This archived version is recorded from our live long-term care conference, "Compassion, Comfort, and Compliance in Long-Term Care." The video features footage of the speaker and the presentation slides.

More Information

Webinar Description

Palliative Care is developing into a specialized area of medicine as interdisciplinary teams are created with the primary focus of symptom management, while utilizing the patient and family as a unit of care. Dr. Comfort will discuss types of pain and how to evaluate them for pain management recourses. The use of opioids will be explored

This archived version is recorded from our live long-term care conference, "Compassion, Comfort, and Compliance in Long-Term Care." The video features footage of the speaker and the presentation slides.

Webinar Description

Those participating will develop a better understanding of the use or decisions not to use tube feeding, with a particular focus on patients with dementing illnesses and stroke. Participants will be able to discuss feeding tube use in the following areas: clinical details on feeding tubes, dementing illnesses and difficulty in feeding and hydration, and the use of feeding tubes in strokes, differentiating between different types of stroke and probable outcomes; ethical grounding on the use or decisions not to use medically assisted nutrition and hydration; considering the right paradigms in differing situations.

This archived version is recorded from our live long-term care conference, "Compassion, Comfort, and Compliance in Long-Term Care." The video features footage of the speaker and the presentation slides.

Webinar Description

At-risk payors and providers are increasingly adopting value-based payment approaches. These include the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program, another round of voluntary bundling (Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced), and accountable care organizations. These, and other market-driven changes, will place continued emphasis on improving quality and lowering costs. In this session, you will hear about the changes scheduled for October 1, 2018; other market-driven changes taking place across the country; why you need to prepare ahead of time; and how to position your organization to succeed in this increasingly challenging environment.

This archived version is recorded from our live long-term care conference, "Compassion, Comfort, and Compliance in Long-Term Care." The video features footage of the speaker and the presentation slides.