Compassionate Touch Program

Right at Home Boston and North became a certified provider of the Age-U-Cate Training Institute’s Compassionate Touch program in 2016. The program is offered to caregivers as part of their on-the-job training. Caregivers are taught to incorporate Compassionate Touch into their dementia care services, enhancing the quality of care and deepening the relationship between caregivers and dementia patients.

The Compassionate Touch Caregiver Workshop for Dementia Care covers topics including:

• Skilled touch used in dementia
• Non-verbal communication with dementia patients
• Skilled touch techniques and safety precautions

Compassionate Touch is designed to ease anxiety and pain, and reduce behavioral symptoms of dementia patients. The person-centered experience aimed at building trust, strengthening the feelings of safety and care. It also benefits the patients physically by reducing the discomfort including stiffness and tension in muscles and joints, while improving circulation at the same time.

"Compassionate Touch is an approach combining palliative skilled touch with compassionate presence to enhance quality of life for those in the later stages of life. Designed to ease physical, behavioral and emotional stress, the approach provides symptom relief and patient comfort while reducing stress in care-partners."

About the Program Facilitators

Brenda Forster, Director of Nursing of Right at Home Boston and North, and Victoria Guskiewicz, Community Relations Coordinator are both certified facilitators of Compassionate Touch. The training is added to Right at Home Boston and North’s Hospice Training Program and is offered once per month at our Somerville, Salem, and Haverhill offices for our CareTeam members.

For more information, please call us at (877)-500-CARE (2273) or email us at info@rightathomemass.com.