KingsWay Arms Nursing Center, Inc., Schenectady, NY

Best Practices for the Dementia Resident with Incontinence

Kingsway Arms Nursing Center worked with Kingsway Manor (Assisted living), Seton Health Incontinence Center, and Sunnyview Hospital to meld three best practice approaches in the areas of dementia, urinary incontinence and mobility thereby defining a new pathway for the "Management of Urinary Incontinence in the Resident with Dementia." Kingsway Arms Nursing Center utilized the "Best Practice of Medicine: Dementia", "Clinical Practice Guidelines for Adult with UI", and the mobility programming at Kingsway Arms Nursing Center as the foundation for defining a unified, multidisciplinary approach to caring for the dementia resident with urinary incontinence. The best practice triad offered the slowing of dementia progression, maintenance and/or management of continence for a longer period of time, and enhanced mobility. The guidelines did not draw an expectation of abolition of the presenting issues but rather, offered an opportunity to enhance the quality of life for the individual during the progression of dementia.

Goal: Improve the level of urinary incontinence among individuals with dementia, thereby enhancing quality of life and enabling more effective use of staff resources.