‘Don’t help us without us’

Sandra Hansen
Posted 9/27/17

“Don’t help us without us,” might be a common response among dementia patients, if they could comment on ways to enrich their lives.

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‘Don’t help us without us’

Posted

TORRINGTON – “Don’t help us without us,” might be a common response among dementia patients, if they could comment on ways to enrich their lives.

Improving the lives of dementia sufferers, as well as their caregivers, was the focus of the message Heather Comstock brought to the Second Annual Rotary Dementia Gathering informational meeting at the Lincoln Center Complex on Sept. 22. The event is a regular project of the Torrington Rotary Satellite Group.

Comstock, a dementia care educator in Sheridan, addressed an audience of more than two dozen Goshen County residents interested in learning more about how to improve the lives of their friends and loved ones who have the disease.

Goshen County has about 220 dementia sufferers who need special attention, Comstock said. As heart wrenching as this is, their caregivers need to be considered as well.

With these two goals in mind, Comstock said Sheridan residents took up the challenge after a special residency was created in 2006 to allow dementia patients some freedom to choose when they get up, eat, or read, rather than according to a nurse’s schedule. By 2012 there were four units with 12 beds offering alternatives to a nursing home.

This resulted in the 2015 establishment of a study circle dedicated to educating community residents to look at new and better ways to care for dementia patients by creating a dementia friendly community. (More information on establishing local organizations is available at dfamerica.org.)

Comstock said a community assessment was conducted to identify existing programs for dementia patients as well as their caregivers, who also are frequently isolated.

“Most of the time, we are learning as we go,” Comstock said.

The group established a list of goals for being dementia friendly, including: 

• Recognizing dementia and creating a supportive environment; 

Knowing where to locate dementia resources and support, and;

Implementing dementia friendly medical practices.

The Sheridan group is also dedicated to, as much as possible, removing barriers to serving people where they are and providing effective communication.

The Sheridan business district has joined the effort as well, with businesses indicating their involvement with stickers in their windows. 

Comstock said it has taken a lot of cooperation and involvement to make Sheridan a dementia friendly community. There are still improvements to be made, she said, but the effort has seen tremendous progress during the past three years.

Improvements include care coordinator training, family caregiver programs, senior center renovations and workshops on improving skills required to help both dementia patients and caregivers. A leadership council was also established to provide guidance and expertise, with the intention of going statewide within a few years.

Comstock said the goals are to involve dementia patients in regular everyday life as much as possible. One of the best methods is restoring the patient’s own sense of self-worth.

“You have to know the person well enough to know what’s going on with them,” she said. “Care, planning, coaching and referrals have to be in place to have a successful program.”

Sheridan’s success has not been easy, Comstock said. It took a lot of door-to-door visits to extend invitations to Dementia Friendly meetings and workshops. 

She said the program will look different in each community, depending on resources and needs. What an individual communities specific needs are will be determined through an initial community assessment.

Local AARP representative Bill Marsh encouraged those present to join the effort, and offered AARP resources

Following Comstock’s presentation, Torrington Rotary member Tom Kelly encouraged those present to work with city and county residents and officials to create a dementia friendly
community.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Kelly said. “If we band together we can
do this.

“We may start slow, but we’re going to do this, one step at a time.”

For more information on establishing a local dementia friendly effort, contact Kelly or other members of the Torrington Rotary Satellite Group: Danielle Wondercheck, Melissa Miller, Michel Traher, Ellen Burbank or Rotary Associate District Governor Nancy Hobbs.