Living With Alzheimer's

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Tina Sadarangani [https://nursing.nyu.edu/directory/faculty/tina-sadarangani], ANP-C GNP-BC PhD RN, Assistant Professor at NYU School of Medicine and the Rory Meyers College of Nursing [https://nursing.nyu.edu/]. They discuss Tina’s research regarding natural disaster trends and its impact on caregivers for those living with dementia.  Tina shares her recommendations for creating an evacuation plan for the natural disasters most likely in their region as well as how to create an evacuation kit.  She also discusses ways to reduce agitation for people living with dementia during an evacuation. And she shares how CareMobi [https://nursing.nyu.edu/news/managing-your-aging-parents-health-theres-app], a caregiving app her team has developed, can keep caregivers connected with family and medical providers during natural disasters. CareMobi is available for both iOS [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/caremobi-caregiver-app/id6449607139] and Android [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nyu.caremobi&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1] users.

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Michael Loughman, Director of Sales for Holland Home [https://hollandhome.org/], a nonprofit senior living and care organization in Grand Rapids, MI. Michael and Christoph discuss how the Holland Home team helps families navigate the choice of staying at home versus moving to a senior living community. And they cover typical senior living options and how they differ. They continue with Michael’s insights on how families can prepare for caring for aging parents, and recommendations for the first steps families should consider when there is evidence one or both parents no longer seems safe at home. As they wrap up by discussing the dreaded question, “How can we pay for this?” Michael describes the main methods families use to cover the costs of senior living. You can find more information about senior living options at Holland Home’s Resources page [https://hollandhome.org/resources/]. On that page, you can also find their guide called Questions to Ask When Evaluating Assisted Living Options [https://hollandhome.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Assisted-Living-Questions.pdf]. In addition, you can find their downloadable Dementia Care Handbook.

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Matt McCann, Chief Operations Officer and Master Trainer at McCann Insurance Services [https://mccannltc.net/], focused on customizing long-term health care insurance plans. Christoph and Matt discuss what long-term care insurance is and how it can be structured to cover the long-term care needs both at home or in a senior living community. They also discuss how people can determine whether long-term care insurance is a good fit for them, what options should be considered, and the age or health status people should typically speak with a specialist about purchasing a plan. Matt shares some resources for people to start their research, including LTCnews.com [https://www.ltcnews.com/], a website dedicated to helping people learn more about long-term care insurance and to find long-term care insurance specialists who serve your area [https://www.ltcnews.com/long-term-care-insurance/work-with-a-specialist]. For more information, you can visit The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance at aaltci.org [https://www.aaltci.org/], LTC News at LTCnews.com [https://www.ltcnews.com/], or you can contact Matt at the McCann Insurance Services [https://mccannltc.net/] website or by calling 866.751.7957.

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Amanda Bulgarelli, Chief Operations Officer and Master Trainer for Positive Approach to Care [https://teepasnow.com/], an organization focused on creating a more positive dementia care culture. Amanda is the daughter of Teepa Snow [https://teepasnow.com/about/about-teepa-snow/], a nationally known dementia care specialist who founded the Positive Approach to Care (PAC) organization to help caregivers be more successful by using Teepa's therapeutic approaches and care techniques. Christoph and Amanda discuss the issues that PAC is focused on solving for families facing dementia and dementia care needs. They talk about some care techniques PAC teaches, how caregivers can be more successful when they better understand how to enter the world of the person living with dementia, and how families can engage PAC to help them navigate the caregiving landscape. They also discuss signs that may indicate cognitive decline versus normal aging, as well as two cognitive screening tests that individuals can use to help detect cognitive changes early. Those two tests are the Animal Fluency Test [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_fluency_test] and the Trail Making Test [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_Making_Test]. For more information about Positive Approach to Care and the resources they offer caregivers and families dealing with the impacts of dementia, please visit teepasnow.com [http://teepasnow.com] or call 877.877.1671.

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews licensed master social worker Megan Cowan about her work as Social Work Team Lead for Corewell Health Hospice & Palliative Care West Michigan [https://www.spectrumhealth.org/services/hospice]. Megan describes how the caregiving journey changes during late-stage Alzheimer’s and how she and her team of medical social workers help families and individual caregivers navigate the shifting care needs. Christoph and Megan discuss recommendations for environmental changes to address safety needs related to restricting access, bathing, toileting, and diet. Christoph stumbles over the word comorbidities ... other medical conditions that can coexist with a person’s dementia diagnosis. Megan explains how these other conditions can significantly impact caregiving needs, and she outlines the services hospice provides that can help with the unique needs of a person in late-stage Alzheimer’s. Lastly, Megan describes what caregivers should prioritize for themselves regarding self-care as the person they're caring for progresses into later stages of dementia. And she recommends that caregivers use techniques from Teepa Snow [https://teepasnow.com/] and resources available from Alzheimer’s Association [https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/care-options/hospice-care]. To learn more about Corewell Health Hospice & Palliative Care West Michigan [https://www.spectrumhealth.org/services/hospice], you can contact them at 616.391.4250.