2009 May « The Professional Geriatric Care Manager’s Blog

“The Alzheimer’s Project”

May 7, 2009 at 10:00 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a comment
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, Alzheimer's Project, HBO

“The Alzheimer’s Project” is a four part documentary (with companion book, supplemental films, DVD and Website) that begins this Sunday, May, 10, 2009 on HBO. The first part of the documentary is the “Memory Loss Tapes” a 90 minute documentary that focuses on seven Alzheimer’s patients. The following Tuesday at 7pm “Caregivers” features five families coping with the disease. And the two-part “Momentum in Science” at 8pm the following Monday and Tuesday takes us inside the laboratories and clinics of 25 leading scientists and physicians and reveals the most cutting-edge research advances. Bergen Record, May 5, 2009

I urge you to watch this series as Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is going to become an overwhelming epidemic as the baby-boomers age. As those of you who have been following my blog know there are som many of us in the “sandwich-generation” caring for both childred and parents. Many of you have turned to us at Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management to assist you with your caregiving responsibilities, and to attend our monthly caregiver support group.

Should you have questions related to your loved one’s cognitive impairment please feel free to call us at 201-857-5283 for a complimentary consultation and guidance. We have offices throughout Bergen County in Ridgewood, Tenafly and Dumont.

Alzheimer’s Association Annual Conference

May 6, 2009 at 9:09 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a comment
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Disease, Education

I will be attending my 6th annual Alzheimer’s Disease Conference on Friday, May 8, 2009 with 2 of my colleagues from Distinctive Care. The conference is called New Directions in Research and Care . I really enjoy attending this conference every year as I learn so much that I am able to put into practice to help my Clients and their families deal with this devastating illness.

While at this year’s conference I will be attending a panel discussion on Early Stage Alzheimer’s Disease and will be sure to share what I learn at this discussion with all my followers. Knowledge is power, and the more we can learn about Alzheimer’s Disease, the better we are able to serve our Clients. I will be sure that Bobbi and Megan will also let you know what they learn in their respective workshops.

Alzheimer’s Disease: The Numbers

May 4, 2009 at 1:18 pm | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a comment
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, Cognitive Screening, Depression Screening, Statistics

The Alzheimer Association recently posted the following numbers on their website:

5.3 million people have the disease

Alzheimer’s Disease results in 148 billion dollars in annual costs

There are 9.9 million unpaid caregivers

There is a new case of Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosed every 70 seconds

Alzheimer’s Disease is the 6th leading cause of death

Alzheimer’s Disease triples healthcare costs for American over 65 years old

These numbers are staggering and cause a great deal of anxiety among older adults who often fear they have Alzheimer’s Disease or some other form of dementia if they are forgetful. At Distinctive Care’s three Bergen County offices, in Ridgewood, Tenafly and Dumont we have helped to put a great deal of older adults at ease by performing our Cognitive Screening Evaluation. We conduct a series of screenings for cognitive impairment and depression and provide our Clients with the results at the time of the assessment. Should cognitive impairment be suspected, the Client is provided with information to bring to their physician to help them initiate the dialogue necessary to begin the process of determining whether further testing is necessary.

Feel free to contact our office at (201) 857-5283 to schedule an appointment for our Cognitive Screening Evaluation.

Bergen County, NJ Geriatric Care Manager

May 1, 2009 at 11:55 am | Posted in Megan Milchman, GCM | Leave a comment
Tags: GCM, Weekly

Monday: Visit with M, she is doing well. Her Aide has come back and she can’t be happier about that, but she is nervous that her Aide is going to leave her. She is also panicking about the Swine Flu, watching the news intently. She then finds out the pipes under her house need to be redone and that they are going to have to tear up the floor in her garage.

Mr. A, he has finally taken all of his medicaitons. He is doing well and there has definately been a good change in him.

Tuesday: Mr. A, I give him his medication and try to get him to go out, but he refuses.

I visit with P and bring with me medi-minders, it is a fight but she finally agrees to let me take care of her medication, when she realizes that she has not taken her medicaiton correctly.

Wednesday: Ma meets with her OT today, I am there to make sure everything goes smoothly. She seems to be happy with the OT and with the explanation she is given as to why she needs OT and what they will do for her.

Mr. A, I give him his medication and again spend the hour trying to convince him that he should go out with no avail. He says that he is not in the mood to go out and just wants to stay home. He has been wearing the same clothing daily and at this time I do not think that he is showering. I will discuss this issue with his pyschiatrist tomorrow, to see how to handle this issue.

Thursday: Today I will introduce our new Geriatric Care Manager to some of our clients, First we go and see P. There is nothing new going on with her. She tells me that she would like me to get her some new nightgowns, and I will. I show our new GCM what to look for in the charts and I introduce her to P as well as G, who I see once a month.

We then go and see A. She complains about her stomach, and told me that she has already called her doctor. He told her that she will be fine. I also look at the infection she had, which is getting much better. I then fill her medi-minders and go on my way.

Mr. A has his appointment today with the psychiatrist. We discuss the issue of him wearing the same clothing and she suggested that I explain to him gently that he can not wear the same clothing everyday and he agreed to listen to me. Mr. A is really starting to understand that there is something wrong with him.

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