MONROE - Two Monroe banks became the first banks in Green County to be declared "dementia friendly" earlier this month by the Green County Dementia Friendly Coalition.
The Woodford State Bank and Wisconsin Bank and Trust completed training processes that taught employees how to work with people with dementia on Oct. 8 and 9, respectively.
The banks are not the first Green County businesses to be declared dementia friendly: Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate Haus in New Glarus completed its training on Aug. 20.
For a business to be declared dementia-friendly, at least half of its employees must attend a workshop that explains the difficulties dementia sufferers face and presents a series of possible scenarios the employees might encounter, explained Whitney Thompson, dementia care specialist for the Aging and Disability Resource Center.
More important, Thompson said, the Coalition works with business managers to establish a plan for sustainability so that current employees remember their training long afterward and future employees receive the same training when they start working.
Thompson said the training process affords employees a better understanding of a condition that affects more than 110,000 people in Wisconsin.
"There are about 2,500 people in Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Counties with dementia living in their own homes," Thompson said.
Thompson said the "common image" of dementia as a condition largely treated in nursing homes is untrue. About 70 percent of dementia sufferers in Wisconsin live at home.
Thompson said the work of the Coalition is never over. In Green County, it hopes to work with organizations such as faith groups, schools and emergency responders to create a community that provides lasting support for people with dementia.
"We want to try to fight the stigma surrounding dementia," Thompson said. "If people are talking about it, then more people will get funding to research it."
The Woodford State Bank and Wisconsin Bank and Trust completed training processes that taught employees how to work with people with dementia on Oct. 8 and 9, respectively.
The banks are not the first Green County businesses to be declared dementia friendly: Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate Haus in New Glarus completed its training on Aug. 20.
For a business to be declared dementia-friendly, at least half of its employees must attend a workshop that explains the difficulties dementia sufferers face and presents a series of possible scenarios the employees might encounter, explained Whitney Thompson, dementia care specialist for the Aging and Disability Resource Center.
More important, Thompson said, the Coalition works with business managers to establish a plan for sustainability so that current employees remember their training long afterward and future employees receive the same training when they start working.
Thompson said the training process affords employees a better understanding of a condition that affects more than 110,000 people in Wisconsin.
"There are about 2,500 people in Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Counties with dementia living in their own homes," Thompson said.
Thompson said the "common image" of dementia as a condition largely treated in nursing homes is untrue. About 70 percent of dementia sufferers in Wisconsin live at home.
Thompson said the work of the Coalition is never over. In Green County, it hopes to work with organizations such as faith groups, schools and emergency responders to create a community that provides lasting support for people with dementia.
"We want to try to fight the stigma surrounding dementia," Thompson said. "If people are talking about it, then more people will get funding to research it."