CLEARWATER, Fla — If you live with or take care of someone with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, you know interactions with strangers in public can be a challenge.
It's why Empath Healthhas attempted to tackle that with cards caregivers can hand out to people that let them know their loved one has dementia. The cards also allow dignity to remain intact for everyone.
"Good morning! How are you ladies doing," said nurse MJ Schwartz as she walked into a conference room to speak with new employees. “You went through the virtual dementia tour, and I promised I would show you these cards we just had made."
She's talking about the Caregiver Companion Card. Schwartz, who is also an educator at Empath Health, thinks it has already provided relief to people who have to care for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
“I think people are so desperate, and rightly so, for someone to kind of put their arm around them and say, 'Hey, this is OK, this is how we’re gonna navigate these waters together,'" she said.
Empath Health is a nonprofit, community-based health organization that cares for children and adults throughout all stages of life, including when they are diagnosed with a devastating disease that impacts their cognitive ability.
The cards are relatively new.
“I think the tendency is to think, well, if someone is diagnosed with dementia, they just stop doing things. And especially in the early stages, that’s not true," Schwartz said. "They’re still shopping, they’re still getting their car washed, they’re doing all these normal activities of daily living that we all do.”
Schwartz said one in three seniors have some form of dementia. 60-80 percent of people diagnosed with dementia have Alzheimer’s dementia, which makes up about 7 million people nationwide.
- Click hereto read more statistics from the Alzheimer's Association.
And early onset diagnosis is devastating for your ego and sense of self. That's because you potentially have young kids, you’re married, and you’re working a job.
“Later on, if you’re diagnosed, you’re worried about your legacy, and if someone is going to take care of you and, will you be a burden? From the caregiver perspective, it is how am I gonna manage all of this? I’m losing them twice ultimately, I’m losing the person I love that I know intimately, and then I’m losing them from this world," said Schwartz.
That’s why the Caregiver Companion Cards are so crucial. Schwartz said many caregivers struggle to navigate public interactions with their loved ones, and strangers often don’t know what to say or how to act when they don’t know about the diagnosis.
“You just never know what the situation is; there’s a stigma, and people make assumptions that maybe this person just has behavior issues, or maybe this person isn’t very kind when really agitation is a symptom of dementia withdrawal," she said. "So all of these symptoms that can be seen publicly as inappropriate, it’s appropriate for them, though. If I was a waiter and you slip me that card and I had a chance to read it, I would be very grateful.”
Currently, the cards are distributed at events Empath Health does in the community. Soon, they will also be available online at www.empathhealth.orgfor ordering or downloading.
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