Dementia program in Peel 'should spread like wildfire'

The Musical Memories Cafe is a social gathering space for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as their caregivers. Participants gather to enjoy music, seek refuge outside of their homes and get access to peer support and health resources. There are more than 1,000 memory cafes operating around the world, both in-person and virtually.

The Castle Center provides adults with dementia in need of assistance care during the day. Open five days a week, the center offers participants meals, medication monitoring, personal care assistance with the help of nurses and volunteers, socialization and activities like arts and crafts. The Center also offers time off for caregivers — like family members — who often care for people with dementia 24/7.

PACE — Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — provides free, necessary care to seniors, as well as resources like medicines and other accommodations. PACE also provides a health clinic, urgent care center, home services and offers respite to caregivers in need of a break. Nationwide, there are 273 PACE programs in 32 states. Michigan alone has seven, with two more to be added within the next year or so.

The Partners in Caring Respite program pairs volunteers with people in the early stages of cognitive neurological disorders — like dementia — to offer care and companion programs, allowing them to build relationships and provide respite for family caregivers. Partners in Caring has expended to four counties across the state, serving over 400 families with its 70 on-call volunteers.

To combat worker shortages, the Presbyterian Homes and Services — a network of over 50 senior living communities — has been partnering with the International Personnel Resource of the Philippines to bring registered nurses from overseas to the states.

The Money Follows the Person is a federal program that increases access to Medicaid funds for home and community care services for people transitioning out of institutional care. The program has helped more than 101,000 people move out of long-term care facilities into community or home living. The program has also helped people save money by cutting taxpayers’ Medicaid and Medicare bills by about 23% for each person who was moved out of a nursing home or other institution. Based on the program’s success, the current administration is reviewing plans to extend or make Money Follows the

The Netherlands is trying an alternative strategy to hospitalization for dementia patients. Instead of home care and hospitalization, patients live in group care facilities, which use stress-reduction techniques and calming cues to reduce the negative symptoms of dementia. There’s no cure for dementia, but their methods are effective in reducing the medication and restraints necessary for patients.

University-based retirement communities help to foster intergenerational connections between younger and older generations. Some of these facilities are simply developments near colleges, while others are physically on-campus. Along with building connections, these programs help fight feelings of loneliness among the older population and break down stigmas young people may hold about the elderly.

Caregivers who step up to the plate to care for friends or family members are often overworked and underpaid. To remedy this, several organizations and measures at both the local and national levels are emerging to provide support. For example, the RAISE Family Caregivers Act became law in 2018 and is designed to create a nationwide strategy on how government officials can better support caregivers. On a local level, nonprofits like Team Suzy provide financial support and resources to those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s who can’t afford necessary supplies.

Well Spouse Association helps spouses manage the mental and physical challenges of caregiving. The nonprofit offers support groups, respite weekends that give caregivers time to take care of themselves and other responsibilities, and other resources. The relationships members build with each other help combat feelings of loneliness and isolation. With just 20 chapters nationwide, many members travel long distances to access the support and services, though moving meetings online due to the coronavirus pandemic had the effect of expanding membership and several members have also started local chapters.