Cary Medical Center in cooperation with the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging (AAAA) and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has launched a new Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Caregiver Support Group. The group has now met three times and according to Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development for Cary, the project is off to a great start.
“We anticipated that six to 10 local people might participate in the group at first,” stated Flagg, who has helped facilitate the program. “But we had nearly 30 in attendance at our first meeting and many of those individuals have attended all three programs. We are very gratified by this response and hope the program continues to grow.”
Flagg also commented that participants are attending from throughout central and northern Aroostook.
We have caregivers traveling 30 or 40 miles one way to attend these meetings,” he said. “I believe this speaks to the great need that caregivers have for support.”
Meetings are held the third Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. in the basement of the Gray Memorial Methodist Church on Sweden Street in Caribou. Flagg said that the location has been a great part of the program’s initial success.
“We tried to schedule support group meetings at the hospital but our parking lot is very full during the day when most caregivers wanted to meet. We were very grateful when the Methodist Church offered their facilities, its a central location with good parking and it has a welcoming atmosphere,” Flagg added.
Sharon Berz, from the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging, is the lead facilitator for the support group meetings. She pointed out that caregivers can learn a lot from each other and the socialization of the group meetings is also a great benefit.
“In our experience with caregiver support groups some of the greatest benefit is what they can learn from each other and the opportunity to be around people facing some of the same challenges,” said Berz who has worked closely with seniors for more than 35 years. “People who attend the support group find that they learn new skills and have the opportunity to share information. As an agency we are delighted that caregivers are attending in such numbers and that they want to keep meeting every month. The partnership with Cary Medical Center has been a great benefit because the hospital has been able to promote the support group and assist in identifying speakers who offer important information to our caregivers.”
In addition to an open dialogue and sharing of experiences, the support group also provides brief educational sessions at the opening of the meeting. Danny Donovan, director of the Aroostook Regional Transportation System presented information on the regional bus program at the first meeting and Cara Miller, Health and Wellness consultant and director of the Employee Wellness Program at Cary addressed the issue of stress management at the most recent meeting.
The start up of the support group was made possible through a grant from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Cary Medical Center received a $5,000 grant from the foundation in 2010. The grant provided for funding of a caregiver survey which identified the need for a support group. The survey also identified a need for caregiver training and plans are in the works to offer such training later this fall.
“It is clear that our caregivers need to have training in a variety of aspects when caring for individuals with dementia,” said Flagg. “Alzheimer’s disease is a tragic, progressive illness and the needs of these patients change over time. It is our goal to work with the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging to present training programs based on the needs identified by the caregivers. This training will be provided free of charge and will be promoted through the support of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.”
In addition to the training programs Flagg stated that the support group will also be provided with a variety of resources, websites, books, research articles and other tools to assist them in care giving.
“Everyday science is getting closer to understanding what causes Alzheimer’s disease,” said Flagg, “and we want to make sure that patients in our community have access to the very latest information, treatments and resources.”
The caregiver support group was developed as an extension of the Memory Clinic at Cary Medical Center. Raveendran Meleth, M.D., internist, geriatrician, and neurologist conducts the clinic every other month at Cary. The clinic sees patients with symptoms of memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, or other dementia. More information on the clinic is available by calling 498-1394. Patients attending the clinic must be referred by their primary care physician.
For more information on the caregiver support group should contact Kim Parent at Cary Medical Center, 498-1112.
