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"Including or expanding elder care benefits and services as part of your employee benefit package can lead to a higher number of qualified applicants from which to choose in the future."



WHITE PAPER:

Solving Employee Eldercare Challenges

November 2010 Newsletter

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes! It's Annual Medicare Enrollment Time Again - Information to Share With Your Employees!

 

ARCHIVE ARTICLES:

You can print a copy of the newsletters by clicking on the links. A PDF of that newsletter will be uploaded. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat you can get it FREE by just clicking on the icon below.

 

"We don't have an Eldercare Problem"

"Benefits as a Retention Tool"

"Elder Care Benefits: An Aid in Recruitment"

"What can I expect to find in my custom Corporate Eldercare Solutions report?"

Recommended Reading: "Stages of Senior Care"

 

"Gerontologist finds Elder Care / Child Care Sandwich Can Make You Sick"

 

"Dear Executive"

 

"It's Not Always Alzheimers -
My Father and Lewey Body Dementia"

 

To measure and provide solutions for your employee eldercare work/life challenges, contact Corporate Eldercare Solutions today.


 Web site: www.corporateeldercaresolutions.com
or go to the Contact Us page to email Veronica directly. Phone: 414-763-6333



Veronica Woldt, M.A., is the owner and principal of Corporate Eldercare Solutions, llc (CES) and the author of two studies: An Exploratory Study of Corporate Employees with Eldercare Challenges (2009) and The Aging Effect on Corporate America: A study of the use of eldercare benefits by Milwaukee area industry (2003-2004).  
 
CES helps companies realize the costs associated with unaddressed employee eldercare difficulties via a Customized Employee Eldercare Needs Audit (CEENA). Based on the quantitative and qualitative results of this audit, CES then provides corporate shareholders with solutions to their specific employee eldercare concerns. The results assist in the positive enhancement of company productivity and associated employee health-related issues, as well as facilitating relief of employee eldercare-related stresses, thereby improving employee work/life circumstances.

“It’s not always Alzheimer’s –
My Father and Lewy Body Dementia”

 

This article is for elder caregivers concerned with a loved one they feel may have dementia and are in the process of educating themselves about memory loss, and the possibility of their loved one having a form of dementia other than Alzheimer’s Disease.

 

Having met with hundreds of families expressing that their loved one has memory loss, I’ve found they most often assume it is Alzheimer’s disease. This may be due to their familiarity with the disease through the media, their doctor, family and friends

 

Let me first say that I am very pleased that Alzheimer’s receives such attention and kudos is extended to the The Alzheimer’s Association for their impressive work in this area. Most laypersons are not aware that The Alzheimer’s Association provides information on other forms of dementia in addition to Alzheimer’s Disease; in visiting their web site you will find a “related diseases” section: Alz.org - related dementias.

 

For the caregiver, knowledge leads to a better understanding of a condition, often providing them with relief in having a diagnosis. Following a treatment plan helps caregivers increase their ability to help the individual with dementia as well as improve their coping skills, and often lower their stress and frustration level.

 

My father, a loving, patient, kind and understanding man, has what neurologists believe is Lewy Body Dementia (LBD, also “Dementia with Lewy Body” - DLB).  When I explain this disease to laypersons, I tell them to imagine a combination of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. (According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, “LBD is an umbrella term for two related diagnoses. It refers to both ‘Parkinson’s disease dementia’ and ‘dementia with Lewy bodies…over time, people with both diagnoses will develop very similar cognitive, physical, sleep, and behavioral symptoms.”)

 

In 2006, my sister, Mom and I began to notice my father having more difficulty with problem solving. This manifested itself as mistakes in the checkbook, as well as in anything related to the use of numbers. But we did not see any symptoms of memory impairment (for which we were on guard) which is not unusual with Lewy Body Dementia (please refer to http://www.lbda.org).

 

Another symptom noticed was Dad’s attention span - it took longer for him to digest what he saw. It was time to talk about relinquishing his driving for his safety and the safety of others (which he did).

 

Over the next few months, my mother would find my father ready to shower, shave and dress for church at inappropriate times (1am in the morning); a normally very easy-going man, he would argue with her about whether it was 5pm or 5am. When this began to occur, my heart sank; I knew then that this would be the beginning of a disease that would be with my father until the end of his life, whether it be the cause of it or not.

During a doctor visit in 2008, neurologists concluded Dad most likely had Alzheimer’s disease. I, however, could not get past the fact that my father had symptoms outside what might normally occur in Alzheimer’s disease (shuffling gait and body stiffness). I brought this up to the doctor, who admitted it could also be Lewy Body Dementia.*

 

The fact that Dad still retained so much of his memory was baffling for us; from what did Dad really suffer? While he did have problems with problem solving and reasoning, his memory was not as affected. Up until his speaking ability failed, he could still communicate which baseball or football team was being televised and could recall the names of relatives and events we had long forgotten. As time progressed, his cognition would deteriorate, but still remained. Last week he called out “Becky” when he saw a former caregiver he hadn’t seen in at least 6 months, and she only worked with him for ten days!

 

Dad’s appetite is insatiable. He eats nearly anything and continues to have a strong oral (chewing) fixation. Since he was increasingly unable to communicate, he began to shout. We tried to determine what it was that would be annoying him. We would ask him to repeat one word, for example the name of a beloved pet, which would distract him and give him the ability to communicate a word or two to help satisfy his annoyance.

 

More Parkinsonism symptoms appeared and others intensified: the shuffling gate remained but became slowed, the body stiffness become more apparent (which threatened more falls and reduced his physical activity level), he had greater difficulty with his speech, more frequent blank stares and significant drooling.  He was now unable to care for himself in any regard and required 24/7 care, which my mother provided for several years, until complete exhaustion forced her to look at a number of alternatives.

 

Dad is now living in a wonderful community based residential facility that my sister and I visit with regularity. He lives only two miles from my mother, has consistent, devoted caregivers, is kept well-fed, clean and receives hospice services several times weekly. My mother visits him daily, at minimum 4 hours each day, feeding and caring for him. While the facility is happy to take on the responsibilities with which she engages with Dad, she takes great satisfaction and relief in helping him herself, conversing with him, reminding him of memories and holding his hand.

 

* When we later received the written report from the clinic, it included Lewy Body Dementia as a probable diagnosis.