Reach Out for Help withDementia Caregiving

Dementia is a set of illnesses that diminish mental skills, often leading to the impairment of one’s memory and/or reasoning. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, is experienced by about one out of every 10 people 65 years old and older. Other widespread forms of dementia are vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia (LBD).
While all of us will suffer from declining brain function as we age, those with dementia are affected more severely. They are often unable to perform everyday tasks, communicate clearly, recognize familiar faces around them or make decisions. Those who care for them need to be prepared for possible changes in the patient’s coordination and personality as well.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2024 report, family/other caregivers gave approximately 18.4 billion hours of unpaid assistance in 2023, with 70% of those helpers finding care coordination stressful. Individuals taking care of a loved one with dementia need help with the emotional challenges of the work as well as with finances, time management and health care system complexities. Dementia patients and caregivers should not hesitate to contact the Alzheimer’s Association’s free, confidential helpline (800-272-3900) for advice or to reach out to support groups through their website.
A particularly critical decision in dementia care is choosing a health care team equipped to treat such complicated illnesses. The Eskenazi Health Aging Brain Care program has been providing strategies and care for dementia patients and for those assisting them for more than a decade and a half. Since the illnesses lead to physical, social and mental challenges, the program’s care team is from multiple disciplines, including physicians, nurses, psychologists, care coordinator assistants and social workers
After diagnosis, a care plan is developed, including how to manage home-based care, work with local resources and navigate the health care system. The program helps patients and caregivers cope and solve the problems involved with managing brain care. Education on brain care, counseling, data collection, assistance with transitions and ideas for making changes to physical and social environments are addressed. Non-pharmacological interventions to reduce physical and psychological burdens are part of treatment, as is palliative care as needed. Family members are included in care decisions.
Research is leading to health care innovations to treat those suffering from dementia. Since the Eskenazi Health Aging Brain Care program conducts research in addition to providing care, the newest strategies can be offered to patients. Two Eskenazi Health providers were also part of the task force developing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s new dementia care and payment model, available as of this July for Eskenazi Health patients. This model includes methods for keeping patients home and reducing the pressure on unpaid caregivers.
For more on the Eskenazi Health Aging Brain Care program’s multidisciplinary approach or to book an appointment, go to eskenazihealth.edu/health-services/brain-center/aging-brain-care-program or call 317-880-2224.

Broderick Rhyant, M.D., chief physician executive with Eskenazi Health Center Grande