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Bill Klaproth (Host): ECMC offers several important services and programs for those who have a higher need of care and here to talk with us about the partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association to provide a driver evaluation program is Lisa Thorpe, supervisor of outpatient therapy and rehabilitation at ECMC. Lisa, thank you for your time. Let’s talk about the Alzheimer’s Association partnership with ECMC to provide a driver evaluation program. Lisa, can you tell us about this?

Lisa Thorpe (Guest): Sure, ECMC is proud to partner with the Alzheimer’s Association to ensure that those living with dementia have a safe community mobility plan. We are also very grateful to the New York State Department of Health for providing this funding for this collaboration. In this partnership, ECMC provides formal assessments to determine a person’s ability to continue to safely drive when they’re impacted by dementia. Chances are you or someone you know are impacted by dementia and there’s a concern about driving.

Host: So this is a driver’s test for people with dementia basically. Is that right?

Lisa: Correct.

Host: So what are the components of this? How does it work?

Lisa: So it’s a two part assessment and it’s conducted by occupational therapists who have advanced training in driver rehabilitation and there’s two parts. So the first part is an in clinic assessment and as we all know from driving, it’s a synchronized movement, multi-stimulus, ever changing environment; you have to be on point. So our in clinic looks at motor, cognitive and visual skills you need to drive and then we take, part two, is behind the wheel. So we’re going to take you into the vehicle, ECMC’s vehicle, which is equipped with an examiner break and we’re going to drive in progressive driving situations. Following those two parts, we’re going to come back to ECMC and do a post counseling session where we give the objective results. Is it confident the person can continue to drive and they’re safe? Do they need some restrictions or alternative driving strategies, and in some cases possibly driving retirement where then we provide education and support to make an alternative community mobility plan, and that’s where the collaboration between the Alzheimer’s Association and ECMC is critical because they can expertly create that alternative community mobility plan.

Host: So you sit down with the person and the person’s loved ones, family members, or friends, and that’s where you go over the evaluation?

Lisa: Correct, so we encourage a lot of people in the room, caregivers, family members, so that everybody hears first hand information, and we give them the objective, what did we see in the clinic, what did we see in the vehicle, and what does that mean for continued driving? You’re good to go. You’re confident that this person can continue to drive safely or you know there might be some restrictions. Maybe you’re not going to drive the expressway anymore or maybe night driving isn’t for you. In all cases, we attempt to make a driving plan so the patient can continue to access their healthcare needs, social engagement, prevent isolation and depression, so we make sure that it’s covered.

Host: So when you say alternative driving strategies, is that what you were just describing?

Lisa: Correct, so it may be continue to drive but in restricted environments or daytime versus nighttime or maybe that it’s driving retirement and you need community transportation to get where you need to go, and we know that can come in many different forms now a days.

Host: So there’s three basic evaluations here. One is you’re okay to drive. Two is alternative driving strategies at this point in your life or driving retirement as you put it. For the second and the third one for the person who’s being evaluated, how do you handle the person who may not agree with that assessment?

Lisa: And that does happen. Because this assessment takes about two hours, so we’re together a very long time and have built that rapport, we make it very clear the why of the assessment results and the support and you kind of walk the patient through it until they make that realization that you know what, this is my decision now and I’m going to heed your recommendation. If that is not possible initially, that’s where the Alzheimer’s Association and the physician then can provide further reinforcement of the assessment results. The majority of the time, people do heed the recommendation of the driver evaluation.

Host: And I imagine having family and friends in the room for support also helps as well at that moment.

Lisa: Absolutely.

Host: So Lisa, how do interested families sign up for this?

Lisa: If you’re going through the Alzheimer’s Association, they can directly refer to us, and through the grant they will cover the cost of this evaluation. If for some reason the concern for driving is not related to dementia but other medical conditions or the functional impairment from just growing older, you can call ECMC directly at 716-898-4347.

Host: So Lisa let me ask you this, is there a cost involved?

Lisa: For patients who are being referred via the Alzheimer’s Association, the cost of the evaluation is covered by the New York State Department of Health grant. For other community members, they can access this program through their MD or through direct access to ECMC and the cost of the program is $285.

Host: And for someone listening who is thinking, this might be right for my mom, my dad, husband, wife, at what point should they consider this? What do they need to see in the driving when they think this program might be good for us?

Lisa: I would say that no one should be concerned about someone else’s driving unless they have directly observed over time, and then what we like to say is look for those red flags, multiple accidents, multiple dents and dings on the car, going out for milk but not coming back for two hours. So there are red flags and intuitively most of us know that, but I would choose the person that has directly observed the patient’s driving performance.

Host: Okay that’s really good to know. This is all great information and if you could wrap it up for us Lisa. Is there anything else we should know about this partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, the driver evaluation program, anything else we should know about this?

Lisa: I would say that we do a lot of community outreach here in that ECMC Driver Rehab Program and one of the best topics is begin the conversation at home in a comfortable environment at your kitchen table, and then if you need further assistance, contact the Alzheimer’s Association. They can be reached at 1-800-272-3900, reach out to ECMC. We can just have a conversation before you even determine if a person needs a formal driver evaluation or not.

Host: Lisa, great information and thank you for your time today. For more information on this you can call 716-898-4347 or visit ecmc.edu, that’s ecmc.edu. This is the True Care Health Cast from Erie County Medical Center. I’m Bill Klaproth, thanks for listening.