Care Providers are People Too! Reassessing the Rhetoric and Practice of Person-Centered Dementia Care

Abstract

Despite the current emphasis on relational care within dementia care literature and practice, long-term care centers continue to operate under a dominant reductionist logic which emphasizes “assembly-line” task completion and the individualization of care. This article explores the operationalization of Person-Centered Care (PPC) philosophy (Kitwood 1997) at two faith-based care centers in Alberta, Canada. While staff are versed in the PCC philosophy of care, and are often intent on delivering relational care, their efforts are often frustrated by systemic problems including chronic understaffing and lack of support by administration. It is argued that significant change needs to occur at the organizational and governmental levels of society in order to provide holistic care for persons with dementia, and that the concept of personhood needs to be extended to networks of care which also affirm the personhood of care providers and family members.