Alzheimer’s

National statistics indicate that one to as many as four family members can be actively engaged in caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. And this is understandable. Many families feel that since their Mom or Dad cared for them all their lives, it’s only right that they should be cared for in return by their sons and daughters. If this is the situation you find yourself in, we’d like to suggest some helpful strategies you can employ to make your in home care as effective as possible.

  • Learn all you can about the disease so that you know what to expect and how to cope with changes in your loved one’s condition.
  • Learn how to effectively communicate with your loved one.
  • Practice patience. It’s the one virtue all family members will need in abundance.
  • Avoid caregiver burnout. Be sure to take time for yourself.

    • At some point, however, as the patient progresses through the seven stages of the disease (see below), the burden of care becomes too great. Families begin to think about professional in home care.

    If you’re loved one resides in New Jersey, you’ve decided it’s time for NJ in home care you’ll be relieved to see that few New Jersey home care agencies have more experience in caring for Alzheimer’s sufferers than Accredited Health Services. We’ve been there before, with families just like yours, helping them cope with this difficult disease. While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, our home health care aides have been specially trained to ease the burden on families by being sensitive to the changing needs of their loved one as the disease progresses.

    Having a home health aide there with you who has seen it all before, who can answer your questions based on hundreds of hours of experience, who is reliable and professional, and who cares for your loved one with sensitivity, has proven to be a great comfort to all our Accredited Health Services clients.

    What kind of training and supervision do our certified home health aides receive?
    At Accredited Health Services (AHS), we understand that in order to provide quality care, we must maintain continuity of care and provide our clients with an educated caregiver.

    Accredited Health Service Certified Home Health Aides (CHAA’s) receive not only education reinforcement upon hire, but throughout their employment. Upon orientation to Accredited Health Services, all CHHA’s receive reinforcement education on Alzheimer, Dementia, Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury Disease processes and caregiver management. Further education includes the anatomy, physiology and psychological effect of these specific diseases is included in our annual training sessions.

    Despite there being similarities in any given disease, the affect the disease has on a person can be quite different. Therefore, during the CHHA’s care, they are evaluated and supervised by our experienced Field RN Supervisors. This too promotes individualized care planning and allows our home health aide’s to ask specific questions pertaining to the client and their disease and receive individualized education.

    Finally, Accredited takes training one step further, going beyond accreditation requirements. Those CHHA’s who have been noted to take the extra steps to assure client/ family caregiver satisfaction are given additional, interactive training on multiple diseases including those listed above. AHS recognizes the special nuances of these diseases which include memory and functional impairments and how this sometimes leads to moments of frustration, anger, sadness or despair for both the patient and their family. Detailed education on specific difficult symptom management is provided and includes role playing, providing the Aide with accurate, educated response training.

    The Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s

    The progress of Alzheimer’s has been documented in countless patients, and experts have found that most go through seven stages of disease progression. As with any medical issue, the duration and symptoms might vary, but the general decline of Alzheimer’s remains the same.

    Stage 1:
    No Impairment. Individuals at this stage show no marked decline in their cognitive function. No memory problems show up on a regular basis. In fact, your loved one might seem absolutely fine.

    Stage 2:
    Very Mild Impairment. At this stage, forgetfulness begins. Lapses in memory and basic thoughts might occur, such as forgetting names or familiar words. Forgetting small details, like where they put their glasses or if they took their medication that morning, might be more common.

    Stage3:
    Mild Decline. At this point, family and friends have begun to notice the symptoms. A person who was once able to organize and plan now seems lost with the details. Losing things is more common, and they might begin having performance issues at work.

    Stage 4:
    Moderate Decline. The problems are now clear in medical interviews. Forgetting personal history, recent events, and how to handle complex tasks, such as planning dinner or paying bills, happen much more frequently. Your loved one might be very aware something is wrong, and that leads to acting withdrawn or subdued in social situations.

    Stage 5:
    Moderately Severe Decline. Major details, such as their phone number or address, become hard to remember. While they may remember their own name and the names of those important to them, such as a spouse or a child, this stage of Alzheimer’s begins to chip away at basic information, such as the current date, time, or season. Day-to-day tasks, such as cooking, might not be safe any longer.

    Stage 6:
    Severe Decline. At this point, your loved one might be losing their short-term memory. They may need more help with basic activities, such as dressing and using the toilet. They might also experience behavioral changes, such as feeling suspicious or experiencing hallucinations. Someone at this stage might engage in repetitive behaviors or wander away, only to become confused and lost.

    Stage 7:
    Very Severe Decline. In this final stage, they may lose the ability to speak coherently. They may need help with general hygiene, and may eventually lose muscle coordination and the ability to control movement. Their muscles typically grow rigid, the reflexes become unpredictable, and eventually even swallowing could become impaired.