By Eric Bourque
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
A new program from the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia will be presented over a six-week period at Drumlin Heights Consolidated School, starting Sept. 21, and those involved in it encourage people to sign up if they want to learn about dementia, notably Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s an important topic, they say, given factors like the aging population and the growing incidence of the disease.
The Alzheimer Family Caregiver Education Series is offered free of charge and is sponsored locally by Nakile Home for Special Care, VON Tri-County, the Yarmouth County Community Health Board and Drumlin Heights.
The series will begin with an overview of dementia, followed by sessions on:
--planning ahead (financial and legal issues);
--day-to-day living;
--care for the caregiver;
--responding to changing care needs;
--tough issues.
“I would highly encourage people to participate in the education series,” said Bertha Brannen, the Nakile administrator and series presenter.
The program is for anyone who wants to learn and, given that so many people at some point will be affected (directly or indirectly) by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, officials encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity.
There are a lot of misconceptions about Alzheimer’s and so education is key, Brannen says.
When people don’t know what they need to know regarding Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, she said, “It becomes a worse journey than it needs to be.”
Derrick Babin of VON Tri-County and another series presenter stresses, as Brannen does, the importance of giving people the facts.
“There is a great need for education on the practical aspects of caring for somebody with dementia,” he said. “It also gets into the legal types of issues, which is kind of another level of conversation that caregivers have and (they) are not always able to get that information easily.”
Brannen notes that this education series is brand new and says much work has gone into it.
“It’s been well researched,” she said.
The series will consist of Tuesday evening sessions (6 to 8 p.m.) at Drumlin Heights and while the series is being offered at no cost to participants, people who would like to attend must register in advance. They can do so by contacting the VON (742-4512) or Nakile (643-2707).
Brannen says the program really is – as its title suggests – a “series,” where each session covers a different area. People who sign up will be asked to try to attend all six sessions.
“One (session) builds on the other,” Brannen said. “There is a continuity to it that we don’t want to interrupt.”
Acknowledging that dealing with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia can be overwhelming, she said, “It all goes back to education.”
Considering the number of people and families affected – a number that will continue to grow – Brannen says it’s a serious situation.
“We know this is going be a huge (issue) to manage,” she said.
