by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
Central Minnesota Council on Aging community services developer Kathy Gilbride recently discussed the costs of the top three illnesses in our country which include heart disease, cancer and dementia.
She said people with dementia end up paying 80 percent more out-of-pocket costs, due to patients needing more personal care.
Based on an October 2015 New York Times article about a study following five years of treatment of Medicare patients with these illnesses, the costs of care were compared at $175,000 for heart disease, $173,000 for cancer and $287,000 for dementia.
Dementia will usually drain a couple’s income, leaving the surviving widow living in poverty. In many situations the male is usually the first to die.
Gilbride discussed dementia and creating dementia-friendly areas to a crowd of about 30 people Nov. 9 at the St. Joseph Catholic Church Heritage Hall.
She and parish nurse Marjorie Henkemeyer held up an umbrella mobile and gave examples of how dementia is like an umbrella with different types of the illness hanging below it.
Types of dementia included were Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia, frontal temporal dementia, disease-related dementia caused by illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases and reversible dementia caused by lack of vitamins.
Gilbride said dementia is a physical condition of the brain which affects thinking and memory loss and daily tasks that people do.
Sixty to eighty percent of people who have dementia have Alzheimer’s disease.
She gave an example of the steps involved in making a peanut butter sandwich and how a person with dementia would struggle to follow those steps.
In Minnesota, one of nine people age 65 and older will die of Alzheimer’s disease and 12 percent of seniors are now living with the disease.
By 2020, that number will increase to 13 percent and in 2025 it will increase to 36 percent. One out of three people, 85 years or better, will die of Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2008, Minnesota legislature recognized the percentage of people who will be aging with dementia illnesses. A task force was created and presented ideas to help prepare Minnesota for this.
Concerns included the stigma of Alzheimer’s disease, awareness of recognizing the illness, educating health-care providers to recognize dementia earlier, caregivers concerns and what relief they can get – many caregivers need to quit their job to care for loved ones who have the disease – and equipping cities and towns to become more dementia-friendly.
Creating dementia-friendly cities and towns includes raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, transforming attitudes and moving people to action; having supportive options that offer quality of life for people affected by the disease and their caregivers and families; and engaging and including people from diverse areas.
This includes early diagnosis, quality care, patient and caregiver support; specialized memory-loss services and supports; dementia-aware and responsive services; welcoming and supportive spiritual environments; independent living and meaningful engagement; emergency preparedness and response; accessible user-friendly transportation and environments; and dementia-friendly businesses, customer and employee support.
Henkemeyer discussed ways churches could become dementia-friendly. She said dementia-friendly churches welcome people with dementia by offering the following: respect and dignity; encouraging parishioners to gain knowledge about dementia; knowing people with dementia have diminished abilities, but they are still people; people with dementia are loved by God; and helping promote dementia-friendly cities and towns.
She handed out several tips for creating a dementia-friendly church including listening to what people with dementia are saying, watching what they are saying with their bodies, avoiding correcting what they say, showing them signs of love such as through touch, helping them keep their physical appearances up, encouraging them to be creative with things such as adult coloring, welcoming all people with the illness and more.
Henkemeyer and pastoral minister Sister Betty Larson did some role playing showing ways to respond to people with dementia, including recognizing what they are saying and being respectful about it, listening to concerns and not asking the person if they remember you or know who you are.
In dementia-educated cities and towns, people are able to respond and defuse situations, which could otherwise escalate and cause more confusion for all.
There are currently 34 areas in Central Minnesota that are dementia-friendly and are areas that are striving to be safe, respectful and healthy for all.
Gilbride gave examples of Paynesville, which has been featured in several journals, and Brainerd/Baxter, Cambridge and Walker.
The dementia-friendly program was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus of St. Joseph.
The Central Minnesota Council on Aging is one of seven such agencies in Minnesota. For more information visit cmcoa.org or call 320-253-9349. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and warning signs, visit alz.org. To contact the Senior LinkAge line call 1-800-333-2433.
Kathy Gilbride of Central Minnesota Council on Aging discusses how difficult it is for persons with dementia to remember things. After placing a sticky note on her head to demonstrate, she said just like the sticky note keeps falling down, even though the information is there, it keeps slipping away and the person with dementia is not able to retain and recall it when needed.
Central Minnesota Council on Aging services developer Kathy Gilbride (left) and Church of St. Joseph parish nurse Marge Henkemeyer discuss creating dementia-friendly cities, towns and churches Nov. 9 at the church parish center.
