Thinking Differently about Dementia Seminar

The owner of Stanfield Nursing attended another Seminar at the University of Worcester last week organised by Prof Dawn Brooker of the Association of Dementia Studies.

The seminar “Thinking Differently about Dementia” lead by Neil Mapes of Dementia Adventure, and Andy Bradley of Framework 4 Change was invigorating, thought provoking, but most of all it was permission giving.

Congratulations to the Association of Dementia Studies and a big thank you to both speakers.

Stanfield Nursing Home

Dementia cases flood A&E units

CARE services are “collapsing” as the number of dementia sufferers being taken to accident and emergency has soared by 64 per cent over the past five years, health critics claimed last night.

A Sunday Express inquiry shows 600 emergency admissions or readmissions are being made every day for people with dementia. The numbers have spiralled at an alarming rate with 219,064 admitted in 2011/12 compared with 133,373 in 2007/08.

George McNamara, head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is very worrying. Demands on social ­services mean many local authorities are now only providing crisis or high-level support rather than proper care and prevention.

“This has led to a growing crisis in which emergency services are becoming default rather than a last resort. Financially this is unsustainable.”

Shadow Health ­Secretary Andy Burnham said: “Many ­vulnerable older people have seen home care taken away or are paying much higher charges for care.”

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Bringing Dementia Patients to Life

We know a lot about Alzheimer's disease. For example, we know that it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. We know that one in three seniors dies with some form of dementia. And we know that over 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's. But there are some important things we don't know—and I am not referring simply to the still-elusive cure for the disease. I am also talking about new insights familiar to experts in dementia care, which have not yet reached many of the 15 million Americans caring for a loved one with the disease. In dementia care, what we don't know can really hurt us.

I recently spoke with Theresa Klein, an occupational therapist at Augustana Emerald Crest Assisted Living in Minneapolis, who has been caring for people with dementia for 23 years. Theresa and her colleagues have known and cared for hundreds of patients, and this wealth of experience has provided insight on how to craft a better life for both patients and caregivers. First and foremost is the realization that a dementia diagnosis is not the medical equivalent of falling off a cliff. If we stay hopeful and focus on what matters most, she says, we can do a lot to help patients reach their peak every day.

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