Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group.com

Adult-Child Support Group

Pollyanna — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:03:24 +0000

What: Support group for adult-children whose parent(s) have dementia/Alzheimer’s/memory loss When: The third Thursday evening of every month, 6:30 PM Where: Arden Courts Alzheimer’s Assisted Living, 16150 Jog Rd., Delray Beach, FL 33446 Facilitated by David Levy Free. For more … Continue reading →

SNF vs ALF

Pollyanna — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:28:01 +0000

Dear Caregiver,

Many caregivers ask what is the difference between a “skilled nursing facility” (SNF-pronounced “sniff”) and an “assisted living facility” (ALF-pronounced “alf’”). Good question when you are trying to figure out which one is best for your loved one when the time comes to place him/her. Assisted living care is required when someone cannot or should not be at home any longer (for various reasons), but does not yet require a skilled nursing facility (commonly known as a nursing home).

An assisted living is a home-like environment but with employees that lend assistance to certain activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, medication management, etc. It is a social-model versus a SNF’s medical model of care, although the ALF can have on-site medical care too. There are various indicators that would signal when someone would be more appropriate for a SNF rather than an ALF. These include:

1. Needing more medical care than the ALF can provide (ie; feeding tubes, oxygen, IVs, extensive wound care)

2. Behavioral issues that create a threat to other residents or to him/her self, that cannot be managed

3. Not being able to transfer with assistance. In other words, the person needs to be lifted or they are bed-ridden

These are general guidelines and not every case is black and white as to which place is most appropriate. The SNF & ALF will provide their own assessment of the potential resident to determine if they can meet that person’s needs, according to the policies, rules and regulations that govern facilities.

Until next time…

Pollyanna

What is the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia?

Jessica — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:07:58 +0000

Knowing the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is important. Alzheimer’s disease is actually a form of dementia. What defines Alzheimer’s disease is when an individual experiences gradual loss of important cognitive functions. Alzheimer’s disease is more than just memory loss but can consider extreme such as forgetting the name of close relatives and not being able to identify exactly the relations. It has been recorded that Alzheimer’s disease can start as early as age 45. This is scary statistics especially with the population living longer.