Chances are, you know someone who has dementia or is caring for someone who does. And with demographic trends toward an aging society, if you don’t now, you soon will.
Recently, about a dozen local residents gathered at the HHBH community hall for a “Let’s Talk” session about dementia and building dementia-friendly communities led by Catherine Laing, Executive Director of the Dr Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation and Quality.
One of the most important take-aways for those of us in our “third act” of life is that it’s very important to get early diagnosis of cognitive decline, so the next time you visit your GP, ask for a cognitive assessment that will give you a CPS score to serve as a baseline as you age.
Despite jokes that associate Alzheimer’s with “Old-Timer’s” disease, dementia is not a normal part of the aging process. Some memory slips do occur normally with age (where did I put my keys?), but early signs of a dementia process look more like the following:
• Problems with recent day-to-day memory.
• Forgetting the names of familiar people and objects.
• Getting lost or confused in familiar places.
• Trouble concentrating, following conversations, and simple directions.
• Changes in mood and behaviour.
Dementia in all its forms (Alzheimer’s is just one; others include vascular, front-temporal, Lewy Bodies, and Parkinson’s) is progressive and currently without a cure. However, the local resources for people with dementia and their caregivers are growing, and good places to start are the Alzheimer Society of Calgary (https://www.alzheimercalgary.ca/), Kerby Centre (now called Unison at Kerby Centre, https://unisonalberta.com/) and your GP supplemented by Alberta Health Services (https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=uf4984).
Of note, the Brenda Strafford Foundation’s (BSF) Cambridge Manor assisted and long-term care facility in the University District offers education programs for those with dementia and their caregivers. And, through its Centre on Aging in association with the University of Calgary, BSF is promoting ways for people to age in place with dementia.
Recently, BSF was part of pilot projects aimed at building dementia-friendly communities in Okotoks and Calgary Westhills and have produced a toolkit containing a roadmap for getting started. For more information, start here: https://thebsf.ca/dementia-friendly-communities.html.
If you’re interested in being part of this kind of initiative in HHBH, contact Barbara Green at [email protected].
And by the way, “Let’s Talk” sessions which focuses on a wide range of subjects are held each second Tuesday of the month at 2:00 pm. Please come and see what everybody’s talking about this month!
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