Alzheimer's

Grampy’s Favorite Crooner

Photo 74572247 © Dwong19 | Dreamstime.com I learned of Tony Bennett’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease about a year ago. He was formally diagnosed in 2017 by his neurologist, Dr. Gayatri Devi. My maternal grandfather “Grampy” was the full-time care partner of my grandmother who lived a journey with Alzheimer’s Disease. Although they are deceased, this would have been a topic of conversation for me and Grampy. Tony Bennett was one of his favorite performers and his music inspired countless ballroom dances by my grandparents. Seeing Tony Bennett’s “Final Act” on 60 minutes moved me. I encourage you to watch this 6-minute interview by Anderson Cooper.

October 5, 2021
Caregiver support

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

I would love to introduce you to two of my favorite people, my friend Mike Belleville and his wife Cheryl Belleville (in the picture above). Mike was diagnosed 8 years ago at the age of 52 with Lewy Body Dementia. Now, at 60 years old, he explains how he lives by his favorite quote, “get busy living or get busy dying.” Mike is a national speaker, advocate and serves on the Advisory Board for the Dementia Action Alliance. His resume of his advocacy efforts is long enough for an additional blog article. Lewy Body Dementia or LBD is often misdiagnosed

September 8, 2021
Policeman talks to elderly man
Alzheimers

The Urgency of First Responder Dementia Training

There are over 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease. There are another estimated 5 million Americans with cognitive impairment. This does not account for the people who are living with other forms of dementia, such as Frontotemporal Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia, Parkinson’s Dementia, and many other neurocognitive disorders. The numbers continue to rise with more people with dementia living in the community. Ultimately, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and paramedics are answering 911 calls involving people with dementia. Many of whom do not have the knowledge and education regarding a person with dementia. The negative

July 21, 2021
#Aducanumab

Exciting and Controversial Approval of a New Alzheimer’s Drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medication Aduhelm (Aducanumab) June 6th, 2021, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. It took me so long to pronounce this medication “Add-u-can-new-mab”. Hope this helps you. Aducanumab is a human monoclonal antibody developed by Biogen. Biogen procured the drug from its creator, Neurimmune, a biopharmaceutical company in Switzerland. Although there are medications approved to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, such as Aricept (Donepezil) and Namenda (Memantine), Adulhelm is an actual treatment. Aduhelm was in the final stages of the FDA approval process when it was taken out in 2019.

June 8, 2021
The A-to-Z Alzheimer’s Caregiver’s Handbook, Written by One Caregiver for Another
Alzheimer's Care

Written by One Caregiver for Another

I received an email after providing an educational program entitled The Journey of Dementia: What the Family Members are Experiencing. This was so meaningful to me that I asked the author if I could use this as a testimonial on my website and here is what he had to say: “I would just like to say it was a very new and refreshing perspective. Over the past six months I have attended many online classes/courses/sessions on Alzheimer’s/Dementia/Caregiving in order to keep current, refreshed, and in tune so I can provide better caregiving support. When you take a lot of classes,

April 21, 2021
Essential Skills for Dementia Care Logo
assisted living staff development

Introducing Essential Skills for Dementia Care

As I reframe 2020 from a year of much hardship, isolation, and devastation for so many people, I am grateful for many things. I am grateful for the continued health of my family, ability to pay my bills, and the resilience to rebuild my business that ultimately took a dramatic downturn. In rebuilding Alternatives in Alzheimer’s Care, I took this past year to increase my education and knowledge. As a Dementia Specialist, I became a Board-Certified Dementia Educator through the National Institute for Dementia Education. I would like to introduce you to my newly authored and NIDE certified credentialing curriculum,

March 15, 2021
Tammy's Grandparents, Ruth and Louis DePasquale
@AARP

The Stigma of Dementia

What is your perception of dementia? The word dementia is derived from the Latin term “without mind” or “madness.” Dementia is a term widely used to describe a set of symptoms. These set of symptoms include memory loss, confusion, disorientation, change in mood, change in personality, poor insight, poor judgement, and challenges with thinking, language, and processing. Dementia is not a diagnosis. Major neurocognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Lewy Body Dementia cause symptoms of dementia. Stigma is defined as “a mark of disgrace; reproach on reputation; mental or physical mark that is characteristic of a defect or disease;

February 9, 2021
Elderly woman alone in nursing home looking outside a window
dementia care

Social Isolation Contributing to Non-Related COVID Deaths

The number of people who have lost their lives due to complications from COVID is hard to even fathom. In trying to comprehend a number over 330,000, I established that you could fill a professional football stadium five times. This number continues to grow despite the efforts of reducing risks. I want to bring awareness to the devastating effects of isolation, as it contributes to non-related COVID deaths.  The absence of family and friends is the harsh reality of the pandemic for residents in nursing homes, assisted living and in the community. It is of specific detriment to people with

January 4, 2021
#dementia care

A Labor of Love

Most healthcare professionals choose their profession out of a personal passion to care for others.  It is a true labor of love.  There is great concern that reaches all of healthcare.  This is the depleting pool of professional direct care staff.  In reading articles and journal entries from 2018 and 2019, this was already of major concern in the healthcare industry.  The pandemic has only contributed to the shortage. However, with the system-wide healthcare shortage, this continues to be most challenging for so many nursing homes, homecare agencies, assisted living, and memory care communities.     Looking at the nursing home level of staffing needed to provide the required basic care

October 21, 2020
Alzheimer's and COVID-19

COVID-19 Resulting in Cognitive Impairment

Some people who have contracted COVID-19 have a much longer recovery time, even when considered “recovered.” One of the troubling long-term effects of the virus is cognitive complications. This includes memory loss and what some call “brain fog.” Much more time needs to pass to have significant documentation to support this; however, there are many articles to suggest that people who contract COVID-19 have many longer-term neurological challenges. One of the reported experiences is loss of taste and smell. Some have reported olfactory and gustatory hallucinations as a long-term effect of the virus. Hallucinations are defined as false sensory perceptions,

September 16, 2020

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