Category Archives: Awareness

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A Tribute to The Alois Alzheimer Center

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This article was written by Sheila Case Benner, whose loved one lived at The Alois Alzheimer Center. Sheila has been a supporter of The Alois Alzheimer Foundation as well. Here is her story:

This year, I spent my first Valentine’s Day in 56 years without my one and only “King Richard” who died in November.  Cupid did us a favor back in 1967 and we enjoyed his magic influence ever since.”Better to be lucky than good” as the old adage goes.   

However, when my husband, Dick Benner, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 7 years ago, we were afraid all the good luck and good times were over for us. Mercifully, we were wrong. Thanks to the loving, friendly, dedicated staff at The Alois Alzheimer Center, we ended up sharing some of the most precious and happy moments in our married life in his final years there. I still have a tough time believing this! 

I know that I will forever be filled with love and gratitude for all that the staff at Alois Alzheimer Center did to make that possible. (Alois Alzheimer, if you do not know, was the German psychiatrist and neuropathologist who identified the first case of presenile dementia in the early 1900s, later named after him as “Alzheimer’s Disease”)

The Alois Alzheimer Center, is set on the fringes of Winton Woods in the Greenhills area of Cincinnati. It was opened in 1987 and was the first facility in America to be dedicated solely to the care of those with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. For thirty-seven years, from assisted living and rehab through full-time care, all residents must be diagnosed with dementia issues. 

The staff, some of whom have worked there for thirty years, are a singular subset of caregivers who are actually drawn to working with the Alzheimer’s population. This is not a care-giving skill set that can be easily trained. It is definitely a “calling”. Many of them have had family members affected by dementia and this is their way to “give back”.

So, this past Valentine’s Day, it dawned on me that the cards I most wanted to send – the ones that would come straight from my heart, would go to the staff at The Alois Alzheimer Center – these rare, beautiful creatures who clean the hallways, cook the meals, give the baths, brush the teeth, play the music, plan the parties, change the clothes and truly LOVE the likes of my husband. Angels with names like; Bobbie, Lisa, Steve, Sarah, Maria, John. Mellissa, Lindsey, Dawn, Nikki, Larry, Ashley, Michelle, Mary, Jake and Tom, and the dozens more whom I have forgotten. Somehow, they changed years, which arguably should have been the worst ones in our lives, into ones we shall always treasure. May God bless every man jack at Alois Alzheimer Center. “King Richard” and I will always love you.  Sheila Case Benner

Image Awareness, Education

Purposeful Planning Program-2021 Award

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Congratulations to Kristen Cooley Winner of the Association for Professionals in Aging’s 2021 award for Outstanding Project in Aging. We are proud of her for the 140+ families she has helped. This is a local program. This is a program that matters!

The Purposeful Planning Program provides a much needed free service to our community through the support from the Alois Alzheimer Foundation & the Giving Voice Foundation.

Image Awareness, Education, Home

Alois Alzheimer Foundation Supporting The Purposeful Planning Program

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What is the Purposeful Planning Program?

It’s a free consultative service for individuals and families navigating all aspects of the caregiving journey. The Purposeful Planning Program consultations are facilitated by Clinical Social Worker, Kristin Cooley, LISW-S, LCSW with the NeuroPsych Center of Greater Cincinnati. Kristin’s area of expertise is with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias; however your loved one does not have to suffer from a dementing illness to benefit.

The consultation will allow the opportunity for education (related to disease progression and communication recommendations) as well as emotional support. Care planning guidance and referrals to community resources will be offered amidst the session as well. This service is available at all stages of the disease process, from a new diagnosis to the later stages. The goal of this service is to empower caregivers to become more knowledgeable about their loved one’s ailment while building and strengthening their network of support. This will in turn improve their loved one’s care and lessen the caregiver’s stress.

If interested in scheduling a free Purposeful Planning Program consultation, you can call the NeuroPsych Center of Greater Cincinnati at 513-563-0488 or email Kristin Cooley directly at kcooley@cincinnatigeriatricpsych.com.

This program is supported by the following organizations: The Alois Alzheimer Foundation, The Giving Voice Foundation, and The Christ Hospital Foundation.

Awareness

Embracing Your Unique Role as a Spousal Caregiver

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For married couples, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease often occurs after the couple has been married for decades. With such a history of shared experiences, spouses have long since fallen into a predictable routine. When the symptoms of Alzheimer’s begin, things such as memory loss, disoriented thinking and personality changes can affect the marital relationship.
Despite the fact that spouses provide the majority of care for persons with Alzheimer’s Disease, and that they share the common experience of being married to the person for whom they are caring, it would be wrong to assume that all spousal caregivers’ perceptions are the same. While there are many tasks similar to caregivers – organizing their loved one’s day, providing companionship, assisting with daily activities, perhaps even helping with dressing, bathing and feeding – the approach and the experience for the caregiving spouse can be as varied as the spouse providing the care.
Research studies on the experience of marriage for spouses of Alzheimer’s patients show that some of the burdens most spouses encounter include:
1. guilt for wanting an intimate relationship or for wanting their burden of caregiving to end;
2. frustration with the inability to relate to their loved one due to his/her mental capacity;
3. resentment of having to suppress their own needs or of the marriage vow which promised to care ‘in sickness and in health’;
4. embarrassment or confusion over changes in the spouse’s behavior such as their ill spouse making sexual advances toward the caregiving spouse when they no longer know his or her name;
5. fear of acting selfishly for wanting to attend to one’s own needs and perhaps most common,
6. loneliness and depression,
However, approximately one third of spouses experience these emotions to a far lesser degree, if at all. Things such as one’s overall happiness with their marriage prior to the onset of Alzheimer’s, feeling a sense of commitment to the person as compared to the wedding vows, and having a generally positive attitude and sense of resiliency contribute greatly to the caregiver’s experience and how they continue to find meaning and a sense of peace in such a challenging situation.
If you are one of the minority of caregivers who are not only surviving, but thriving in your caregiving role, bless you! May your outlook be an inspiration to others. If you are a spouse struggling with caregiving, perhaps a good place to start is to simply be honest about your feelings. You don’t have to share them with others; but being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot do may give you a sense of freedom from having to live up to what society presumes a marital relationship should be. Of course, we all want happiness, and your feelings about being a caregiver are neither good nor bad, they just are. Understand them to be your emotional guidance system, and let them help you in directing how you provide care for your husband or wife. When ready, find others who understand and can partner with you on your journey. Naysayers and critics have no place when it comes to honoring what you know to be true for you and your loved one. This is not to say that those who are finding hardship as a caregiver should throw in the towel. Rather, it is to encourage you to know that in starting at a place of honesty, surprising solutions to perceived problems can arise.
Providing care for someone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia is not about logic, following a standard protocol, or pleasing the masses; it’s about individualized care, trusting your gut and both providing assurance and experiencing assurance. When we honor our feelings and act out of kindness and love, there are no wrong choices.

Elizabeth Shulman, D.Min., is the author of Sanctuary in the Midst of Alzheimer’s: A Ministry for Husbands and Wives Caring for a Spouse with Dementia. To contact her, or to find out more about her work, visit: http://www.elizabethshulman.com.
Resources:
Rose A. Beeson, “Loneliness and Depression in Spousal Caregivers of Those with Alzheimer’s Disease Versus Non-Caregiving Spouses,” Archives of Psychiatric Nursing 17, no.3 (2003): 140.
Bonorandi, Andrea; Williams, Christine., “Voices of Couples Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease,” FAU Undergraduate Research Journal, [S.l.], v. 3, n. 1, p. 57, March 2014.
Rich O’Boyle, “Intimacy, Marriage and Alzheimer’s Disease,” [on-line article] Elder Care Online; available from http://www.healingwell.com/library/alzheimers/oboyle2.asp; accessed 19 November 2005.
Joling K, J, Windle G, Dröes R, -M, Meiland F, van Hout H, P, J, MacNeil Vroomen J, van de Ven P, M, Moniz-Cook E, Woods B, “Factors of Resilience in Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia from Integrative International Data Analysis,” Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2016;42:198-214.
Watson, B., Dawn A.L., Savundranayagam, M.Y., & Orange, J.B., “Links Among Communication, Dementia and Caregiver Burden,” Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog, (4), 276-283.