Dementia Untangled

While we hope to avoid emergency situations with our loved ones, it’s a reality that is best to be prepared for – not only as a caregiver, but also as a person working as a first responder.  We talk with Tracey Wilkinson, a Crisis Intervention Specialist with Scottsdale Police Department, about the special training program she has helped develop for public safety officers and first responders to be more prepared in situations that require a different approach for someone with cognitive impairment. She also offers helpful tips and actionable steps to make sure you are prepared as a caregiver in an emergency, to ensure your person is cared for in the best possible way.

Older adults often have multiple medical conditions, requiring more than one medication – add dementia to the list and all of those interactions can get confusing and complicated. We talk with Dr. Jaclyn Robinson, a geriatrician at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, about how to have conversations with our doctor about our medications, both prescribed and over the counter, to ensure we are utilizing them properly and safely. She has a special interest in medication management and deprescribing medications, focusing on whole patient care and support. She also discusses medications used to treat people with dementia and what expectations patients and families should have around them.

About 83% of caregivers are family members, friends, or neighbors taking care of someone, with about half of those caring for someone with dementia. Our guest Lori Nisson, Banner Health’s Family & Community Services Director, helps us untangle the difficult topic of managing conflicts that inevitably arise throughout the dementia journey. She gives us tangible actions to take and feel supported through the emotional, physical, and financial strain caregiving may create. If left unaddressed, these stressful situations can result in emotionally charged altercations and feelings of guilt or depression.

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a leading type of progressive dementia behind Alzheimer’s disease. But this condition still isn’t well understood and can be difficult to diagnose. We chat with Dr. Gary Schmidt, a retired primary care physician who is living with LBD, and he shares his unique perspective and insight on thriving with this disease. He provides strategies that have helped him face the changes that come with the disease, as well as his passion for continued education and sharing his experience with everyone. He is currently working to reduce stigma by encouraging open communication and involving his community in his journey. He also uses his unique experience as a doctor to encourage medical professionals to listen to their patients, their symptoms, their history, and not simply “checking the boxes”.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most critical public health issues in America. This week Dana Marie Kennedy, the Arizona State Director of AARP, joins the conversation to share her perspective and how we can be encouraged to speak up, share our story, and advocate for our loved ones and ourselves. She talks about efforts she’s seen come to fruition at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as ongoing efforts. Dana reminds us that advocacy is non-partisan - elected officials are here to serve us and make efforts toward initiatives that are important to their constituents.

More than 11 million Americans are caring for an aging parent while raising their own children at home. This is what experts* call “Sandwich Caregiving” where the adults are providing for both their parents and own young families.  Our guest, Deanne Poulos with Duet: Partners in Health and Aging, shares what you should think about as you develop a plan for becoming a caregiver to someone with dementia while also caring for children. She offers practical advice to caregivers about managing expectations and utilizing your family and friends to share some of the responsibilities as you redistribute roles and communicate goals of care. We discuss maintaining a sense of home for each family member as 3 different generations blend together, creating new traditions, and focusing less on minute details.

*National Alliance for Caregiving and Caring Across Generations, 2019.

We look back and revisit some of our favorite moments from Season 3, as well as dive a little deeper and untangle the podcast experience of our hosts and editor/producer, Amber Ayers. We discuss the overlying themes of our episodes and our intentionality as we invite guests to share with us, and you, how they came to be a part of the dementia community and what advice, strategies, and overall support they can offer to caregivers.

As we notice changes in our loved one, how can we identify normal progression of the disease apart from warning signs for something more serious? We asked Dr. Jeremy Pruzin, a neurologist from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute to help us untangle depression and apathy and identify behavioral strategies to help our person if they’re dealing with either one. We learn the difference between the two, some common signs of depression in an elderly person, and how to encourage less apathy without causing more conflict. Don’t miss his comments about how untreated depression as a younger person is a risk for developing dementia in the future.

Experiences of dementia and aging are grounded in Indigenous knowledge and culture, often resulting in memory loss being considered part of the natural lifecycle. That, and other barriers have made the work of Dr. Blythe Winchester, the Director for Geriatrics Services at Cherokee Indian Hospital & Chief Clinical Consultant in Geriatrics & Palliative Care with Indian Health Services, that much more important and impactful. She helps us untangle the alarming rate at which Indigenous peoples are projected to develop cognitive decline over the next 40 years and what efforts are being made to care for, support, and educate rural communities about this disease. While there are no specific words for “dementia” in Indigenous languages, her passion for this community helps bring the reality of this disease to light and connects people with the resources they need.

Reduce stigma and encourage acceptance – it’s become the mission for Barbara Mason, the Vice President of Home and Community-Based Services with Sun Health, and she’s found a way to do it through the Dementia Friendly America initiative. Our conversation with Barbara untangled just how detrimental it is to give into stigma surrounding dementia and how it can keep people from seeking treatment, deny them much needed socialization, and delay an overall feeling of acceptance. Her passion to educate, inform, and engage communities has helped the Dementia Friendly movement thrive not only in her city, but the state of Arizona. Learn more about the work she’s doing and how you can become a Dementia Friend.