BrainGuard™ Dementia Engagement Program

A Practical Dementia Care System for Home Care Agencies

Give your caregivers more than dementia training. Give them a system they can actually use.

Created by Dr. Lucy Andrews, DNP, RN — 45 years of nursing, home care, dementia care, caregiver education, and leadership experience.

One-time license • No annual renewals • Up to 3 locations • Unlimited caregivers • Digital delivery within 24 hours

Watch First

A Message From Dr. Andrews

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Dr. Lucy Andrews, DNP, RN • 45 years of dementia care • Nursing Expert Witness • Featured by Teepa Snow, PAC®

The Challenge

Your Caregivers Care. But Caring Without a System Only Gets You So Far.

Even experienced caregivers can find dementia care difficult when they do not have the right information, tools, and support.

A client refuses a shower.

A familiar routine suddenly becomes a source of frustration.

A client becomes anxious, suspicious, or angry.

A caregiver is not sure what triggered it — or what to do next.

The problem is not that your caregivers do not care. Often, the caregiver simply does not have a clear plan for this specific person on this specific morning. That is why BrainGuard™ exists.

Many agencies already provide dementia education. That is a good start. But completing a dementia course does not tell a caregiver what works for this individual client.

BrainGuard™ helps agencies turn dementia knowledge into a consistent, individualized approach — so every caregiver walks through the door knowing the person, not just the diagnosis.

The Transformation

What Changes With BrainGuard™

Without a Consistent SystemWith BrainGuard™
Caregiver arrives and asks: “What does she like to do?” The family explains everything again.The caregiver has access to the client’s Life Story and Engagement Toolkit before the visit begins.
A behavior changes and no one knows what happened.Caregivers have practical guidance for responding when situations become difficult.
Visit note says: “Client had a good day.”Documentation captures what happened, what the caregiver tried, and what they learned.
The next caregiver starts over from zero.Important information passes to the next caregiver. The system travels with the client.
The supervisor learns about problems after they have already escalated.Supervisors have tools for observation, coaching, and follow-up built into the program.
Discharge planner asks what makes you different. You say: “We care.”You describe a specific system. You win the referral.

Complete Inventory

Your $4,500 Includes Everything.

No per-caregiver fees. No annual renewal. No additional modules. One license covers your entire team at up to three locations.

10-Week Training Program

  • 10 weekly facilitator-led sessions
  • Facilitator agendas and speaker notes
  • Session objectives and timing
  • Preparation checklists
  • Program Liaison guidance
  • Structured implementation activities

Dementia Care Handouts

  • Why Engagement Matters
  • Dementia Staging Guide
  • Unmet Needs Framework and PAUSE Protocol
  • Interpreting Behavior
  • Communication Toolkit
  • Life Story Worksheet
  • Engagement Toolkit Planner
  • Matching Activities Matrix
  • Before and After Documentation Examples
  • Documentation Prompts

Implementation Toolkit

  • Dementia Client Intake and Life Story Interview Guide
  • Staff Welcome Letter
  • Family Welcome Letter
  • New Hire Orientation Overview
  • Program Liaison Job Description
  • Caregiver Job Description
  • Supervisor Field Observation Form
  • Visit Note Template
  • Troubleshooting Guide
  • Community Provider, Family, and Hospital Flyers

Agency Management and Evaluation

  • Program Evaluation Guide
  • Monthly Tracking Template
  • Family Satisfaction Check-In Questions
  • Quarterly Leadership Report
  • Director Agency Scorecard
  • Six-Month Implementation Roadmap
  • 30-Day Referral Launch Plan

Safety and Compliance

  • HIPAA in Home Care Caregiver Guide
  • Home Safety Checklist
  • Family FAQ
  • Caregiver FAQ

Program Completion and Licensing

  • Agency Completion Certificate
  • Agency License Agreement (27 sections)
  • Program implementation guidance
  • Digital delivery within 24 hours
85+ pages • 30,000+ words • One complete agency program

Implementation

You Do Not Need a New Hire. You Need a Program Liaison.

Your agency designates an existing team member to coordinate the program. This is a designated responsibility — not a new position you have to hire.

Agency Director
Designates the Program Liaison • Attends Week 1 • Receives quarterly reports • Makes rollout decisions after the pilot
Program Liaison
Facilitates all 10 sessions • Completes Life Story intakes • Reviews documentation • Conducts field observations • Updates toolkits • Reports quarterly
Supervisor
Supports sessions • Conducts observations • Reviews documentation • Coaches caregivers • Briefs new hires
Caregiver
Attends all 10 sessions • Uses Engagement Toolkit every visit • Documents with five-prompt format • Updates the toolkit when something new is discovered
Family
Participates in Life Story intake • Receives Family Welcome Letter • Joins quarterly satisfaction check-ins

Time commitment: Approximately 4–6 hours per week during the initial launch, followed by 1–2 hours per week ongoing. This is a designated responsibility, not a new hire.

“But will my team actually implement this?”

That is the most common question I hear before an agency buys. It is a fair question — because you have watched initiatives die before. You have handed things to supervisors and watched them sit on a shelf.

BrainGuard™ is designed for exactly this concern. You do not roll this out to everyone at once. You begin with a small group of dementia clients, work through the process, identify what needs adjustment, and then expand. The program has a built-in pilot structure, a Program Liaison with defined responsibilities, and a Troubleshooting Guide for exactly the moments when things get hard. This is not a binder you hand someone and hope for the best.

The Market Case

Why Dementia Capability Matters Right Now.

7.4M

Americans age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2026, projected to reach 13.8 million by 2060.

Alzheimer’s Association 2026 Facts and Figures

75%

Median professional caregiver turnover rate in home care in 2024. Three out of four caregivers left within the year.

Activated Insights 2025 Home-Based Care Benchmarking Report

$2,600

Average cost to replace a single caregiver — not including lost productivity or client disruption.

HR Cloud / SHRM Research 2026

20–40%

Turnover reduction achieved by agencies that implement structured training and support programs.

SHRM Retention Research 2026

The CMS GUIDE Model — A Federal Signal Worth Understanding

CMS launched the GUIDE Model — Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience — in July 2024. It is an eight-year model focused on coordinated dementia care. GUIDE Participants can work with Partner Organizations, including organizations providing services in the home.

This does not mean CMS automatically pays a home care agency because it has a dementia program. But it does signal an important shift: coordinated dementia care is becoming a much bigger part of the healthcare conversation. Agencies that can clearly explain how they approach dementia care will be better positioned when families, care managers, and referral partners ask: “What makes your agency different?”

Source: CMS Innovation Center, cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/guide, 2024.

Your Competitive Position

What Will You Tell Them?

When a discharge planner, geriatric care manager, or family asks what makes your agency different — every agency has a version of the same answer.

Most agencies say

“Our caregivers are compassionate and experienced.” That is important. But every agency says it.

A BrainGuard™ agency says

“We have a structured dementia engagement program. We learn the client’s life story, develop an individualized Engagement Toolkit, train our caregivers, document what works, and give our supervisors a process for supporting dementia care in the home.”

Now you are describing something tangible. You are not simply saying you provide dementia care. You are showing how you provide it.

About the Creator

Why I Created BrainGuard™

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I have spent 45 years working in nursing, home care, dementia care, caregiver education, and leadership. I have worked with families. I have trained caregivers. I have run a home care agency. I have served as a nursing expert witness in home care cases.

I have seen what happens when caregivers understand the person behind the behavior. And I have seen what happens when they do not. A good caregiver can walk into a difficult situation and still feel completely unprepared. That is not a failure of the caregiver. Sometimes it is a failure of the system around them. BrainGuard™ was created to give agencies that system.

I am also the author of Joyful Moments Unlocked: A 52-Week Dementia Activity Book and have been featured in a dedicated interview by Teepa Snow, founder of Positive Approach to Care®.

DNP, RN 45 Years Experience Nursing Expert Witness Featured by Teepa Snow Home Care Agency Founder

Investment

BrainGuard™ Agency License

Complete Dementia Engagement Program

$4,500

One-time fee • No annual renewal • Up to 3 locations • Unlimited caregivers • No per-caregiver fees

  • 10-week training program
  • 10 dementia care handouts
  • 12 implementation templates
  • Life Story system
  • Engagement Toolkit
  • Documentation tools
  • Supervisor tools
  • Program Liaison structure
  • Agency scorecard
  • 30-Day Referral Launch Plan
  • Six-month implementation roadmap
  • HIPAA and safety resources
  • Agency completion certificate
  • Agency License Agreement

Questions? Contact Dr. Andrews directly at info@brainguardsystem.com — she responds personally to every program inquiry.

BrainGuard™ is an educational and operational resource for home care agencies. It does not replace clinical judgment, individualized medical care, professional licensure requirements, or applicable federal, state, or local regulations. © 2026 Dr. Lucy Andrews, DNP, RN


If your agency is ready to move beyond “we provide dementia care” — and toward “here is exactly how we provide dementia care” — BrainGuard™ gives you the structure, tools, and implementation framework to get there.