Rona S. Bartelstone, LCSW, MSW, CMC Senior Vice President of Care Management

According to Robert Egge, Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy for the Alzheimer’s Association, the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase “perhaps as much as three-fold.”  By 2050, he says, as many as 14 million people will have the disease, compared to 5 million people today. And, caring for Alzheimer patients will cost more— $189 billion by 2015 (compared to $62 billion in 2000).

When individuals with Alzheimer’s also have other diseases or disorders, they are more likely to suffer complications. In addition, falls may be more prevalent. Those factors and others increase the cost of care.

Because the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is insidious, families may not even realize there is a problem until a loved one has difficulty with daily activities. And, while early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is becoming more prevalent, there have been few efforts to treat the disease proactively, the way we treat heart disease and atherosclerosis.

For family members, who provide the vast majority of care, that means more out-of-pocket expense and more involved care that may last 8 to 15 years. It’s a heavy financial, physical and emotional burden, and one that gives rise to relationship issues such as who will provide the primary care, who will pay and who will support the main caregiver.

At SeniorBridge, we understand the challenges of dementing illnesses. Families who are coping with Alzheimer’s and related disorders suffer the ongoing losses of changes in judgment, reasoning and decisional capacity over the course of many years. In the early stages, the individuals struggle to maintain function and independence. As the disease progresses, patients often lose insight and don’t understand why people are taking over tasks they have done for a lifetime. In the end, patients have no expressible awareness of themselves, a state of seeming unknowing that can go on for years.

It’s a little like watching a glacier melt—sad, unstoppable and frightening.

Our Care Managers understand the dynamics of Alzheimer’s and related illnesses and can support both the individual and family members. Therapeutic activities, respite care, education, emotional support, grief counseling and a safe environment help to create a cocoon for the family. In addition, because SeniorBridge professional care givers are trained, coached and provided with continuous support in working with individual clients, they are able to customize the daily routine in a manner that ensures continued productive activity and a meaningful life for the afflicted individual.  

Navigating the maze of Alzheimer’s and related disorders is disorienting unless you have a good guide. SeniorBridge professionals have the knowledge, skills and experience to be that guide.