For better safety, evaluate your environment

All signs point to safety in June. It’s National Safety Month and spring – a time of year when many homeowners are inspired to begin home modifications and improvements.

If you are part of a family living with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important to remember that one of the keys to aging at home is doing so safely. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease does not have to signal the loss of independence and freedom.  As many as 70 percent of people living in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s today are doing so in their own homes.

Safety at home begins with adapting the environment to support the changing abilities of the person with Alzheimer’s. Be sure to re-evaluate home safety measures regularly as the disease progresses.

A person with dementia may be at risk in certain areas of the home or outdoors. Pay special attention to garages, work rooms, basements and outside areas. Inside the home, there are simple things you can do to modify your kitchen, living room, bathrooms and bedrooms to make them safer for the person with Alzheimer’s.

Invest in installed, working fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. Lock or disguise hazardous areas using child-proof locks and doorknob covers and limit access to places with knives, appliances and poisonous chemicals. Minimize clutter and limit access to stairs to reduce risk of falls.

Enroll the person with dementia in MedicAlert^® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return^®, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who wander or have a medical emergency. You may also want to consider the Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone^TM, powered by Omnilink, a Web-based GPS location management service.

For more tips on home safety, including concerns about wandering, disaster preparedness, traveling with Alzheimer’s and medication safety, visit the Alzheimer’s Association Safety Center at www.alz.org/safetycenter  or call 1.800.272.3900 to find the Alzheimer’s Association chapter closest to you.

Safer travel for those with dementia

June is National Safety Month – and the time of year when many Americans plan summer and holiday travel.  Whether you’re considering a weekend getaway or an extended stay, traveling with an individual who has Alzheimer’s requires additional thought and preparation.

People with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers need to be prepared for a change in schedule and environment. Even if it is a trip you have taken before, it may feel new for the person with the disease.

Additionally, as Alzheimer’s progresses, negotiating changes in environment will become increasingly challenging. Be prepared for the individual with the disease to experience some confusion or disorientation. Exercise caution, as wandering and getting lost are more likely during transitional times. The checklist below will help you plan for the trip and make it successful and safe.

Before going

• Call the Alzheimer’s Association chapter in the area you will be visiting. Let them know you will be staying in the area and ask about available resources. You can locate any chapter by calling 1.800.272.3900 or visiting www.alz.org/apps/findus.asp.
• Enroll the person in MedicAlert^® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return^®, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who wander or have a medical emergency. You may also want to consider the Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone^®, powered by Omnilink, a Web-based GPS location management service or Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone Check-In^TM.

• If you are already enrolled in MedicAlert, update your records with temporary contact information (call 1.888.572.8566).

Upon arrival

• Let neighbors know a person with Alzheimer’s is staying next door and ask them to keep their eye out for wandering or other unsafe behavior.
• During the first few days after arrival, keep your schedule light with lots of down time.
• Create opportunities to re-acclimate the person to the new environment.
• Keep familiar things around.
• Limit access to money and credit cards.
• Limit access to driving.
• Be aware that the change can be chaotic for the person.
• Recognize the warning signs of anxiety and agitation.

For more tips on safety for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including concerns about wandering, disaster preparedness, home  and medication safety, visit the Alzheimer’s Association Safety Center at www.alz.org/safetycenter  or call 1.800.272.3900 to find the Alzheimer’s Association chapter closest to you.

New Report Reveals Nearly 15 Million Alzheimer’s Caregivers

According to the 2011 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures released March 15 by the Alzheimer’s Association, there are nearly 15 million Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers in the United States — 37 percent more than reported last year. In 2010, these individuals provided 17 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $202.6 billion.

The rising prevalence of Alzheimer’s places increasingly intense demands — emotional, physical and financial —on the millions of family members and friends who care for those with Alzheimer’s.  “Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t just affect those with it. It invades families and the lives of everyone around them,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.

As the Alzheimer’s epidemic continues to escalate, more and more Americans will experience the strain of this disease. Today, an estimated 5.4 million individuals are living with Alzheimer’s. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

2011 Facts and Figures also includes a special report focusing on early detection and diagnosis. Increasing evidence suggests that early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and timely intervention is beneficial both for people with the disease and their caregivers. Experts believe that early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and early interventions with improved therapies provide the greatest hope to delay or stop additional damage to the brain.

To help, learn the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease^© and be aware of them in yourself and others. The signs are a key tool in increasing recognition of changes that indicate Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

• Memory changes that disrupt daily life
• Challenges in planning or solving problems
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks
• Confusion with time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
• New problems with words in speaking or writing
• Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social activities
• Changes in mood and personality

If you or someone you care about is experiencing any of the 10 warning signs, please see a doctor to find the cause. For more information about the signs, early detection and diagnosis or the Facts and Figures report, contact the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org or 1.800.272.3900.

Report calls Alzheimer’s the defining disease of baby boomer generation

According to Generation Alzheimer’s, a new report released by the Alzheimer’s Association, one in eight baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s, a devastating, heartbreaking, costly disease. It’s no longer their grandparents and parents who have Alzheimer’s – it’s the baby boomers themselves.

A rapidly aging population and dramatic increases in the number of Alzheimer cases in the coming years underscores the urgency in dealing with a crisis that is no longer emerging, but here.

Generation Alzheimer’s also describes the effect Alzheimer’s has on families and friends. Beyond the 10 million baby boomers who will either die with or from Alzheimer’s, millions of caregivers will be devastated, not only by the progressive loss of their loved one, but also by the care they will  provide – care that could negatively affect their health, financial security and their future.

Most people survive an average of four to six years after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, but many live for as long as 20 years with the disease. This often long duration places increasingly intensive care demands on Alzheimer and dementia caregivers – as many as 11 million nationwide.

Alzheimer’s disease will also have a profound effect on our nation, killing more than diabetes and more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.  According to preliminary data from National Center for Health Statistics, the number of Americans that die each year from Alzheimer’s disease has risen 66 percent since 2000. In 2010, Alzheimer’s and other dementia’s cost American society – families, insurers and the government – $172 billion; during the next 40 years it will cost more than $20 trillion, enough to pay of the national debt today and still send a $20,000 check to every man, woman and child in America.

Generation Alzheimer’s calls for a federal government committed to a thorough, aggressive and innovative approach to ending Alzheimer’s.

For more information about Generation Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s disease or resources to help, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.

Meeting of the Minds Dementia Conference 2012

This weekend, Welcome Home and some of our community representatives will be attending the Meeting of the Minds conference from the MN/Dakota Alzheimer’s Association in St. Paul.

We are proud to be one of the sponsors for this year’s event!

The Meeting of the Minds Dementia conference is the premier conference for persons with dementia, families, friends and professionals. The Alzheimer’s Association and Mayo Clinic invite you to join us for this day of inspiration and information.

Team members from Thomas Landing, Legends at Heritage Place, River Pointe and Twin Town Villa, will be attending sessions at this year’s conference as well as attending our booth in the exhibit hall.  Be sure to stop by and say hello!

If you would like more information on this event or would like to register, simply click on the link: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=952142.

National Alzheimer’s Plan Now Includes Assisted Living

Post from the Assisted Living Federation of America:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Serves (HHS) has released its first draft plan outlining its intended actions against Alzheimer’s disease. Due to ALFA’s advocacy efforts in response to the initial framework, the draft plan includes references toassisted living communities.

The plan, ordered by the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), aims to develop effective treatment and prevention strategies by 2025, optimize care quality and efficiency, expand supports for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family, enhance public awareness and engagement, and track progress and drive improvement. The plan calls for an immediate increase in funding and an optimized system of allocating existing resources to support the multi-faceted approach. The plan emphasizes that a large-scale, coordinated effort across both the public and private sectors is needed to achieve its ambitious goal.

The draft plan includes some notable changes from the initial framework, including the mention of assisted living. Thanks in part to ALFA’s advocacy efforts, the draft plan includes assisted living in its strategy to assess and address the housing needs of those with Alzheimer’s disease. The plan promises to undertake an analysis of current data to better understand the number of assisted living residents with Alzheimer’s disease and the services assisted living communities provide these residents.

The plan will be submitted to the Advisory Council to Address Alzheimer’ Disease for input and open to public comment. ALFA will continue to work with the advisory council and HHS to ensure that assisted living communities play a valuable role in the final plan. Read the complete plan, Draft National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, to see HHS’ complete proposed strategy.

Online Dementia and Driving Resource Center helps families tackle a difficult topic

Due to the progressive nature of Alzheimer’s, every person with the disease will eventually become unable to drive. Some people are able to continue driving in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, but it requires ongoing evaluation to ensure safety.

As hard as it is for people living with Alzheimer’s to give up driving, addressing the topic is often just as hard on caregivers. In response to this delicate topic and lack of resources to address it, the Alzheimer’s Association, with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, created a new Dementia and Driving Resource Center (DDRC) located online at alz.org/driving.

The DDRC was designed to inform and support the needs of both caregivers and people living with dementia in a compassionate manner. The site features four short videos depicting different scenarios for approaching driving and dementia. In addition, the DDRC has tips and strategies for planning ahead and handling resistance, common signs of unsafe driving, resources for alternative methods of transportation and additional information on driving and safety.

Comment Period Opens for U.S. Alzheimer’s Plan

From the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association (WALA) via ALFA.  Welcome Home is a member of WALA.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an initial framework for a national plan addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The framework tackles the problem from different angles and is open for comment through February 8, 2012.

The draft framework was created based on input from the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, which is comprised of over 20 representatives from federal agencies and organizations outside the Federal Government. The framework seeks to address five goals:

• Prevent and Effectively Treat Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025.
• Optimize Care Quality and Efficiency.
• Expand Patient and Family Support.
• Enhance Public Awareness and Engagement.
• Track Progress and Drive Improvement.

The plan takes a multi-faceted approach to each goal. For example, in order to enhance care quality and efficiency, the agency outlines a plan to build a larger workforce of long term care providers and others who care for those with Alzheimer’s as well as implement policies that allow for easy transitions between hospitals and long term care settings. The plan asserts a commitment to advancing research but also to maintaining dignity, safety, and other rights for those with Alzheimer’s disease. Many other departments, agencies, and organizations will be collaborating with HHS in the coming years to implement the plan, when finalized.

Read the full document: “Draft Framework for the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease” and submit your comments about the plan to HHS at NAPA@hhs.gov.

Know the 10 Signs Info Graphic

For more information about the Alzheimer’s Association, visit them at www.alz.org.

 

Noticing signs of Alzheimer’s in friends or family at the holidays

The holidays offer busy and remote families an opportunity to gather and spend time with loved ones who they see only occasionally during the year.  While visiting, you may notice changes in a relative that raise questions about their health. 

It’s often difficult to know the difference between typical age-related changes and the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Some people may recognize these changes in themselves before anyone else notices. Other times, friends and family will be the first to observe changes in the person’s memory, behavior or abilities. They may be easier to notice in a person who you don’t see very frequently.