Friday, September 11, 2015

Help guide for dementia


Even before I officially joined the Hilltop team, I was invited to be part of the Supportive Community Health Services Roundtable, an initiative of the United Way of Inner Wisconsin. It’s a relatively new group, organized to address unmet needs in the community related to health services. Angela Loucks, chairwoman of the roundtable, suggested it might be a good fit in my new position. As a representative of assisted living, she assumed I could help speak to possible needs we witness.

As it turned out, the group already had a focus when I joined earlier this year: creating a dementia-friendly community.

Some communities in Wisconsin are working toward the same goal. Recently, the Aging & Disability Resource Center-Central Wisconsin has been tasked by the state with taking the lead on creating a dementia-friendly community, so the roundtable might instead focus on creating an age-friendly community, which would overlap in some ways but be broader in scope.

But in the process of discussing dementia needs, Angie noticed she was learning about a number of different resources and wondered if they were compiled in some form for families. She suggested putting together a dementia help guide for families.

The brochure would be styled like the Help Guide for South Wood County, a brochure that provides resources to people who need financial assistance. The Help Guide answers questions about how to apply for unemployment, how to find child care, how to get help with rent or utilities, how to get food or learn new skills to find a job – among many other topics. It’s easy to use and chock full of good information.

So, what would we put in a dementia help guide? Caregivers at our Alzheimer’s support group suggested where to get cheaper medical supplies, how to handle taking away a driver’s license, transportation options and respite care. Angie wants to include information about the support group, our memory cafes (there are two!), ADRC services, Park Place Adult Day Services and memory care facilities.

She also plans to include a card to cut out, like this one.
It’s something a person can give to a server at a restaurant or a store clerk, for example. The back features community resource information.


What would you include in a dementia guide in our community? What resources exist that we should highlight? What questions do you have that the guide could answer? You may call Angie at 715-421-0390 or post a comment here, and I’ll pass it along to her. Thank you, in advance, for your assistance.

2 comments:

  1. The cards are a good idea! If people don't have experience with these issues then they may not know what to expect.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. It's second nature to assisted living and family caregivers but not to the general population.

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