Seniors and Seizures Training Receives CDC Accreditation

The Epilepsy Foundation is pleased to announce that our Seniors and Seizures Training has been fully accredited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) and Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits. This training helps caregivers and staff of adult day care centers, senior centers, long-term facilities, nursing homes, and other senior-serving organizations better recognize and respond to seizures in older adults.

As of June 1, 2015, qualifying participants can

• Complete the FREE Seniors and Seizures Training in-person through one of the Foundation’s nearly 50 local organizations (Online training will be available soon. Read below to find out more.)
• Earn 1.0 CNE and 0.1 CEU

Upon completing the training, participants will be able to 

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of epilepsy and how it affects the older population
• Identify, recognize, and respond to different types of seizures in older adults

Why is the Seniors and Seizures Training so important?

As we get older, our risk for epilepsy increases. The 2012 Institute of Medicine’s report, Epilepsy Across the Spectrum, states that children and older adults are the fastest-growing segments of the population with new cases of epilepsy.

Epilepsy is not always the first possibility that comes to mind when an older adult has a seizure or related episode. Its clinical presentation can resemble other conditions that are common in the older population, such as stroke, head injury, brain tumors, brain surgery, serious infections, heart attack, cardiovascular disease, chronic alcoholism, toxic/metabolic disturbances, Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia.

The Epilepsy Foundation’s Seniors and Seizures Training is designed to address the rising incidence of epilepsy in older adults and help caregivers and staff learn how to identify when an older adult is having a seizure and not just a “senior moment.”

Online Training coming soon…

We are in the process of making the Seniors and Seizures Training available online. This will allow more caregivers and staff to be better equipped to care for the older adult population. Stay tuned for more information coming Fall 2015.

To learn more about epilepsy in older adults or find an affiliate for an in-person training in your area, please visit www.epilepsy.com.