ACT on Alzheimer’s hosts presentation, looks to the future

by Logan Gruber

operations@thenewsleaders.com

ACT on Alzheimer’s hosted a presentation by Mark Reese Sept. 29 at the Sauk Rapids Government Center.

Reese is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and works as a community-program specialist and study counselor at the Fairview Memory Clinic and at the University of Minnesota’s nursing department.

He came to Sauk Rapids to speak about Alzheimer’s disease and the stress Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can place on caregivers.

Reese, originally from Warman, which is north of Mora, was a vice president of sales for a nationwide company when he decided to become the caregiver for his mother. He was her caregiver for 12 years, until her death in 2003.

“It changed my whole outlook on life,” Reese said.

He now presents to groups like this about once a week through the Area Agencies on Aging initiative.

Presentation

About 20 community members attended Reese’s presentation at the Government Center.

In the presentation, Reese stated:

• More than 29 percent of the population in our country provides care for chronically ill, disabled or aged family members or friends, with an average of 20 hours per week spent on this care.
• Most caregivers for those with dementia are over 55 years old.
• Research shows the stress of giving care to a family member with dementia can impact the caregiver’s immune system for up to three years after the care-giving ends, meaning the caregivers have an increased chance of developing a chronic illness themselves.
• Anywhere from 40-70 percent of family caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression, with about 25-50 percent of those caregivers meeting the criteria for a diagnosis of major depression.
• The stress of care-giving can decrease life expectancy by 10 years.

Reese said if a family needs to care for a loved one, its members should contact the Department of Human Services (www.dhs.state.mn.us) and Senior Linkage Line (www.mnaging.org) to help understand financial and medical resources at their disposal.

During the presentation, Reese indicated between 70-90 percent of people with Alzhemier’s or other forms of dementia will develop behavioral symptoms, like swearing, inappropriate sexual expression, sleeplessness, wandering, aggression, hallucinations and more, which can be a source of embarrassment and frustration for family members. He recommends examining what happened before the bad behavior occurred so family members can begin to recognize patterns and solve issues.

One of the attendees, Fay Gunderson of Sauk Rapids, said she learned quite a bit at the presentation. Gunderson is a Team Leader/CNA at Country Manor of Sartell in the Alzheimer’s/dementia wing.

“I saw the story about the upcoming presentation in the Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader, and anytime I see something about Alzheimers’s or dementia I jump on it,” Gunderson said.

She said she is excited to share the new information she has with her fellow staff members.

“Working with residents who have these diseases is a blessing,” Gunderson added.

“Our hope is that people learned a lot . . . that’s how we will sustain our project,” Melinda Fast added.

Fast is the community-life coordinator for Ridgeview Place and coordinator for ACT on Alzheimer’s.

“The people who did come to the presentation didn’t come just to come; they were all engaged!” Fast added.

Future

Fast said they don’t want to lose the momentum they have going from their successful run in 2015.

“We didn’t apply for a grant [through the Area Agencies on Aging] for 2016 because we feel there are other communities out there who need that grant money to start their ACT programs,” Fast said.

They did apply for a grant for portable audio-visual equipment so they can do presentations in other locations, but Fast said they would like to be mostly self-sustaining.

In October, the group has training set up for businesses to learn how to properly help customers who have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. More information on that training will be made available soon, but it will be held Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Also in October, a “Dementia Friends” training will be held. Dementia Friends is a program that has been very successful in Paynesville, Fast said. Volunteers are trained in the basics of how to work with Alzheimer’s and dementia residents, and when a spouse or family member needs to run an errand, Dementia Friends can be available at certain times during the week to watch their loved ones for an hour or so.

Soon, a bookshelf will be placed in the Government Center which will hold books related to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The group has some books already, but if anyone would like to donate books for the common good they can be dropped off at Ridgeview Place Assisted Living, 1009 10th Ave. NE, Sauk Rapids.

In November, the group plans to host an open house to showcase what has been accomplished in 2015 and create momentum for 2016.

Fast said she is excited to see what next year brings for ACT on Alzheimer’s.

“In some small cities, people have to drive 30-50 miles to find resources we have right in our backyard,” Fast said, referring to the Central Minnesota Council on Aging, Senior Linkage Line and the Alzheimer’s Association among others. “We want to get these resources in people’s hands.”