Archive for April, 2010
C-Mac Informational Services, Inc.
Caregiver News
E-mail: caregiver_cmi@hotmail.com |
OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATION C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., founded in 1995 to help those who provide care for people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias, is a not-for-profit, tax exempt, charitable organization. |
MISSION STATEMENT C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., is dedicated to providing education and information to caregivers, family members, and professionals involved in the care of patients afflicted with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., strives to meet the needs of family caregivers, to improve the caregiver’s quality of life, and to provide assistance and support services to the community. |
SERVICES C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., provides accurate and up-to-date information relative to all aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias including safeguarding the home, daily care of patients, adult day care and respite programs, assisted living and nursing home facilities, care for the caregiver, etc. C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., maintains contacts with professionals, agencies, and other organizations involved in the care of dementia patients. Lists of medical and legal professionals, support groups, adult day care and respite programs, assisted living and nursing home facilities in the Greater New York and Cookevile, Tennessee areas are available upon request. We invite professionals to submit information to us for these listings. C-Mac Informational Services, Inc., responds to all requests for information and works to help caregivers resolve problems. |
| We receive most of our funding from voluntary reader contributions and support from the community.
All contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. |
Posted in 
During the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), patients often notice their own loss of skills. They may be unable to continue at a job, or may notice differences at home. Patients suffer a loss of independence and dignity. They often ask the same questions repeatedly, not remembering that the questions were already asked and answered. AD patients develop the tendency of hiding things – then, when they are unable to find the items, they frequently accuse others of “stealing” them. Patients are often frustrated and embarrassed. They can become suspicious without basis, and may curse or become angry and emotional, or may become withdrawn. It’s interesting to note that at the early stages, patients are often able to “pull themselves together” in the presence of people other than their immediate family and caregivers. However, as the disease progresses, patients are unable to continue this behavior.
Ask any caregiver how caring for an AD patient affects all aspects of one’s life and you’ll be surprised to find out just how drastic the changes in day-to-day living can be. As the patient becomes more impaired, it becomes a full-time occupation to provide appropriate care. It’s more than a matter of dressing, feeding, and toileting the patient. It’s constant, minute-to-minute care, supervision, and entertainment. Care at home is often very difficult and demanding. A spouse or adult child may be overburdened with the responsibilities of cooking, marketing, cleaning, and doing laundry for the AD patient, and the rest of the family, while keeping a constant vigil to safeguard the patient. The caregiver must also provide entertainment and social activities for the patient. And he or she must remember that although the patient is acting like a difficult, uncooperative child, he or she is an adult who was once capable and independent.
To prepare the home for an AD patient, one must imagine the things that would need to be done if a child lived there. Safety locks on kitchen cabinets, gadgets on windows and doors to limit how far they can be opened, labeling drawers and closets to indicate their contents, removing knobs from stoves, and keeping medication, cleaning and other hazardous supplies out of reach are among the things requiring attention. Additionally, caregivers should provide patients with identification bracelets, or other identification jewelry, in case the patient wanders off and gets lost. In spite of all the precautions, as the patient’s condition worsens, the family may have to consider getting outside help or moving the patient into an institutionalized setting.