STRAIGHT TALKS…CREATING A CARING COMMUNITY

June 25, 2019

SOME STARTLING FACTS…

Are you aware that…

• Florida has the second highest incidence rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the nation – only behind California.
• There are approximately 1,121,000 unpaid caregivers in Florida that care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.
• 70% of individuals with dementia live in their homes.
• 14% of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease live alone.                                                                                                 

Compared to other caregivers, dementia caregivers are: 

• twice as likely to have physical or psychological problems;
• more than twice as likely to use medications for mood and nerves;
• at much higher risk of social isolation and economic distress;
• onlyhalf as likely to use health care;
• likely to have weakened immune systems.

                                           Source: Alzheimer’s Association 2018 (Facts and Figures)

HELP OFFERED IN CEDAR KEY PROGRAM

The distressing research distilled above comprised the introduction to the June 13, 2019, “Creating a Caring Community” program. The figures jarred some twenty community persons gathered at the Upstairs Meeting Room at the Cedar Key Library to listen, learn, and pose questions to Elder Options’ C. Renee Horne and her colleagues Sam Strickland and Judi Tanner.

The program/workshop goals included:

• learning about memory loss and dementia and communicating and communicating with those suffering from the condition;
• better understanding caregivers’ added strain and helping them cope;
• discovering ways to keep the ailing person content and involved.

Renee Horne immediately reassured all that dementia is not a normal part of aging; instead, forgetting things occasionally is normal. In additional to a powerful presentation and effective, demonstrative slides, Horne provided targeted handouts. One particularly illuminating handout, entitled “Know the Ten Signs,” further distinguished between the normal and the warning behaviors of dementia.

Integral to the presentation was the scientific tracing of how dementia begins and progresses. Attendant behaviors were discussed with each part of the progression through:  memory, reasoning,  languaage, abstract thinking, attention, judgment, perception, and organization.  Horne spent an amazing amount of time speaking about patients’ changing behaviors and offering helpful approaches in managing them.

Though the program was a brief two hours in duration, enough time was allotted for questions of which the audience had many. Further, audience members shared their personal experiences in managing lives with and around those with dementia. Many of those experiences and management techniques mirrored the content of Horne’s presentation and thus reinforcing it.

Horne herself has a Master of Science degree in Gerontology and currently works for Elder Options as a Caregiver Support Coach. As a research coordinator, Horne has worked with the University of Florida’s Institute on Aging. She and her four-member team conduct workshops over a multi-county region in North Central Florida.

CEDAR KEY COMMITTED TO HELP

Having recently enrolled in a Chiefland-based Savvy Caregiver seminar series, Residents Jeri and Bob Treat thought that the content may be helpful to Cedar Key residents, conferred with Sue Vice-Mayor Colson who energetically agreed, and brought the program to the island.  

Cedar Key Vice-Mayor Sue Colson introduced the “Creating a Caring Community” program as second in the city’s Straight Talk series. The sequence is designed to educate the community about the pressing issues of drugs, mental health, elder abuse, vaping, and more. Additional programs are planned and will be announced soon.

Cedar Key Police Chief Virgil Sandlin addressed the audience. He explained that the memory loss / dementia and general mental health issues are important to him and his staff. He assured the audience that his team will be trained to understand the variant behaviors and, with care and concern, get individuals the help they need. His team is available “24/7,” he said. He advised calling 911 for emergencies; the county dispatches the call to Cedar Key Police if the emergency is in Cedar Key.

Both Colson and Sandlin stressed the “If you see it, say it,” message. A healthy community relies on residents caring about one another. Both assured the audience that ignoring problems is not the answer to better health; assistance or intervention is.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The State of Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs’ mission is to “help Florida’s elders remain healthy, safe, and independent.”  http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/ 

Elder Options’ mission is to ensure that communities have a trusted and unbiased place to turn for information, resources and assistance.” The organization “advocates for and cooperatively works with communities to strengthen support systems and create new and innovative service options that focus on personal choice and independence.” https://agingresources.org/ 

Renee Horne, Elder Options Caregiver Coach, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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