Geriatric / Adult Specialty Team (GAST)

Ensuring Caregiver Success Across Eastern North Carolina

GAST Training is conducted for Trillium by Therapeutic Alternatives. To schedule a training please contact John Dawson at 1-910-231-5097. Therapeutic Alternatives helps caregivers by providing education about mental illness so that people can be more effective caregivers. The GAST Team does not respond to emergency or crisis situations.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Community Agencies
• Long-Term Care Facilities
• Senior Centers
• Home Care Agencies
• Department of Social Services
• Nursing Homes
• Faith-based Organizations
• Law Enforcement
• Emergency Personnel
• Volunteer Organizations
• Domestic Violence Organizations

Therapeutic Alternatives helps caregivers by providing education about mental illness but they do not respond to emergency or crisis situations. They assist groups through:

• Provide training and education that enhances the understanding of mental health, substance use and dementia needs in older adults.
• Ensure caregivers and service providers understand and know how to assess escalating behaviors to prevent psychiatric hospitalizations.
• Offer required trainings and contact hours to Long Term Care staff at no cost.
• Increase the ability of adults living with a mental illness to live successfully in their community with a trained caregiver.

Geriatric/Adult Specialty Team Documents and Resources:

• DHHS Brochure
• American Association of Retired Persons, AARP
• Telephone Therapy Helps Older People
• Senior Center Without Walls is an award-winning program of Episcopal Senior Communities offering activities, education, friendly conversation, and an assortment of classes, support groups, and presentations to seniors.  Each week, seniors can access over 70 groups by phone or online, all from the comfort of home.
• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  • Alzheimer's Resources
  • Alzheimer's Research Clinical Trials
• RehabNet is a non-profit organization with a mission to educate and provide assistance to seniors struggling addiction as well as caregivers and family members with concerns.