2-14-2023 4:20am

TIMONIUM NON-PROFIT

Jeff Barto Editor

Mental Health Association of Maryland Announces the Release of Virtual Skills Training Platform

Non-profit initiative creates live evidence-based virtual skills training program to address the elder care workforce shortage crisis

LUTHERVILLE, Md.--The Mental Health Association of Maryland, in association with its national non-profit initiative, Engage with®, announced the availability of a new evidence-based live virtual skills training program, Engage with® Older Adults. Engage with® Older Adults addresses the growing need for skills training within the long-term care workforce and allows caregivers to build and enrich their careers and their job satisfaction, leading to better outcomes for caregivers and seniors alike.

“Engage with® was created to tackle this issue head-on and provides the critical training that will help employers retain their workforce while improving the skills of both professional and family caregivers.”

“Our mission is to improve the lives of older adults by empowering today’s caregivers to provide better care,” said Dr. Stephen B. Goldberg, MD, CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Engage with®. “The shortage of caregivers has reached a crisis point and our rapidly aging population is outpacing the resources we have available,” said Goldberg. “Engage with® was created to tackle this issue head-on and provides the critical training that will help employers retain their workforce while improving the skills of both professional and family caregivers.”

Engage with® Older Adults Skills Training platform offers caregivers nationwide a live, virtual learning experience that allows them to participate from any device with an Internet connection capable of video streaming. Each training is conducted in real-time by a licensed mental health professional and the evidence-based curricula is designed specifically around the core competencies required by those who work with, support and care for older adults.

Through practical, engaging and skills-based training, caregivers can develop and refine the skills necessary for effectively supporting older adults while being empowered to maximize their caregiving potential.

“The future of caregiving has arrived,” said Goldberg. “We firmly believe that the Engage with® Older Adults Skills Training platform will set a new standard for properly preparing caregivers to successfully address the care needs of our growing older adult population.”

About Engage with® Skills Training Programs

Engage with® Skills Training Programs are virtual, live, interactive, skills-based trainings led in real time by a licensed mental health professional. The programs use an innovative gamification approach in a virtual environment to teach practical skills to both professionals and lay people. The skills trainings have a behavioral health focus and cover topics such as mental health conditions, substance use and medication misuse, neurocognitive disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), aggression and de-escalation, as well as suicide risk identification. To learn more, please visit: www.engagewith.org

About the Mental Health Association of Maryland

The Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD) is over 100 years old and is Maryland's only volunteer, nonprofit organization that brings together consumers, families, professionals, advocates, and concerned citizens for unified action in all aspects of mental health and mental illness. MHAMD envisions a just, humane, and healthy society in which all people are accorded respect, dignity, and the opportunity to achieve their full potential free from stigma and prejudice. Engage with® Skills Training Programs is a national non-profit initiative of MHAMD. To learn more, please visit: www.mhamd.org.