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Terry Streetman (Host): Welcome back to Well Within Reach. I'm Terry Streetman, Riverside Marketing Communications representative. We're here today with Cindy DeGroot, Senior Life Learning Coordinator and Certified Dementia Practitioner with Riverside Senior Life Communities. Today, we're going to talk about Alzheimer's, brain health and Riverside Senior Life's Memory Care Services. Thanks for joining us, Cindy.

Cindy DeGroot: Thank you very much, Terry. I'm excited to be back.

Host: Awesome. Well, before we get started, we're going to take a moment for a quick message about myChart.

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Host: Well, welcome back, Cindy. Can you just real quick remind us about you and your role here at Riverside?

Cindy DeGroot: Well, I've been an educator and a member of our leadership teams at Riverside Senior Life for the past 26 years. And some of my responsibilities include supporting, training, onboarding new employees for senior life, teaching dementia and clinical classes. I also facilitate our Alzheimer's support group once a month with my colleague, Marcia Hassey, our social worker at Senior Life. I support clinical excellence initiatives, special projects, professional development of our team, and also support our leaders in the educational component of regulatory compliance for our organization at Riverside, and then regulatory bodies like the Illinois Department of Public Health who they kind of are communities, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing facilities are licensed by them.

Host: Okay. Well, it sounds like a little bit of everything, kind of the Swiss Army knife over there at Senior Life.

Cindy DeGroot: That's right.

Host: We love that. So to start us off here, we're going to talk about what is Alzheimer's? People talk about dementia versus Alzheimer's. Is there a difference there and is it different? How is it different from normal like age-related forgetfulness?

Cindy DeGroot: Well, when we talk about the differences between them, let's start with dementia. Dementia is more like the broad term. It's like an umbrella term, and it kind of focuses on an individual's changes that happen with memory, with thinking, with reasoning. And then, we look at Alzheimer's disease. It is a type of dementia. So, it is the number one type of dementia, the one most people are diagnosed with.

You know, this disease started like over a hundred years ago, back in 1906 with the Dr. Alois Alzheimer. And he started talking about changes in the brain. So, the most common form of dementia, it's not a normal part of aging, Alzheimer's disease. It is a progressive disease, meaning that it gets worse over time.

Host: Well, thank you that. I think that's a helpful clarification for people. So with Alzheimer's then, are there risk factors that people need to be aware of for developing Alzheimer's?

Cindy DeGroot: Yeah. When we look at risk factors, scientists, they don't really know why the nerve cell failure is happening. However, they have identified several risk factors that increase the likelihood that one could develop Alzheimer's disease. So, age is the greatest known factor. If we look at individuals after age 65, a person's risk of developing the disease, it doubles every five years. So, 33% of people over 85 have Alzheimer's. So, your risk is higher the older you live.

Another risk factor would be family history. So, researchers have also learned that people who have a parent or a sibling with Alzheimer's, they're more likely to develop it than those who do not. And I think sometimes, you know, ethnicity, race, sex, research shows that Hispanic and black older adults are more likely than older adults to have Alzheimer's or other dementias. They're kind of unsure of the reasons, but they think maybe a connection might be to the higher rate of cardiovascular disease. And also, more women than men because women live longer than men, making it more likely for them to develop the disease.

Host: So yeah, it sounds like age is the biggest thing there. As people age and as they, you know, get up into those areas, are there specific signs or symptoms that people should be aware of?

Cindy DeGroot: Yes, there are. Again, you know, I think the biggest thing that, individuals in our community, what we can do is educate ourselves on what to prepare for, what to look for. So, really increasing that awareness about the disease. So, some of those signs and symptoms are memory loss. But, you know, when we look at what's normal, what's not, we all have those moments where, you know, "Where did I put my glasses? Where did I put my keys?" But normally, we would retrace our steps and we would find them and locate them, and we would know what to do with them when we found them. So, that's just like normal aging. But this is more forgetting recently learned info and short-term memory that really disrupts your daily life consistently day after day.

Another symptom would be challenges and planning or solving problems like following a recipe or balancing a checkbook or maybe tracking your monthly bills. Another one might be difficulty completing familiar tasks like remembering the rules to a favorite game or how to get to a location you go to all the time. Another one would be confusion with time and place. Forgetting where you are and how did you get there. Looking at understanding visual images and spatial relationships. We all have normal age-related vision changes, but with Alzheimer's disease there are some more detailed things where they start to lose peripheral vision and have trouble judging distances or just kind of struggles with determining color and contrast, with like carpets and rugs and walls and different things in the environment.

Sometimes they have new problems with words or with speaking, stopping in the middle of a conversation and they're like, "What was I going to say? I don't know what to say next, " and they can't continue. Decrease, poor judgment. You can kind of see signs of this if someone really is lacking attention to their self-care and their grooming. Withdrawal from social activities. Things that they used to love and do all the time, they no longer have interest in whatsoever. And then, maybe changes in the mood or behavior, they become confused, suspicious, easily upset, and frustrated. So, these changes severely impact one's activities, daily living and daily function.

Host: Okay. Sounds like that severe impact on the daily life is one of the big difference makers, not just that day to day stuff like you mentioned of "I never remember where my keys are," but that's different. Okay.

Cindy DeGroot: Put them in the same place every day so you know they're at that same location, so that's a place you go check.

Host: Excellent. So then, for people who are maybe concerned about this, might have that family history, are there things that people can do to reduce their risk? Are there brain-healthy things that can help, like just diet and exercise and brain games? Does any of that help?

Cindy DeGroot: Absolutely. It helps. There's a whole new initiative that's just been introduced like the last few weeks, maybe last month. It's between the Alzheimer's Association, IDPH, some different organizations. Yourbrainwillthankyou.com is the site. And Illinois has over 260,000 people living with dementia. So, we see the growth of dedication to creating this dementia-friendly communities and really increasing this awareness and how we can all work for ourselves to improve our brain health as we grow older. So, the kind of tagline is your brain health is in your hands. So, think about the things that you can control. There are always things that we can do to reduce our risk, and we need to start with our youth and have them, you know, create the healthy habits. They say what's good for the heart is good for the brain. So, scientists tell us that there is that strong connection between that brain health and heart health.

So, our risk increases by conditions that may damage those heart and blood vessels, like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke. But what we need to do is focus on our lifestyle. So, what does that include? It's like manage your health. So if you do have chronic diseases that you are taking control and, say diabetes for instance, helping maintain your blood sugar normal levels, taking your meds as they're prescribed. Exercise, you know, activities that will raise your heart rate and it doesn't take much, say three times a week for like 30 minutes. Do a little, do 15 minutes every day. start with baby steps and then just increase and grow until it becomes a habit, it becomes part of your daily routine. Eat that heart healthy diet. we want the fresh veggies, leaner meats, proteins, and kind of stay away from those processed foods. Avoiding tobacco, excessive alcohol intake. Sleep is really huge that they're promoting with this initiative, and how we can kind of promote our brain health. They say seven to nine hours a night. But you know, we know our sleep patterns change as we age, and there are things that we can do like limit your screen time before bed. How many people lay in bed either watching TV or lay in bed watching TV and scrolling that cell phone?

Host: I feel called out.

Cindy DeGroot: I'm not a fan. You know, it's like put it down and have that designated time about when you know you're going to go to sleep and give your body time to relax and the quiet, the calm, the dark environment. Some people like sound machines. I never had one until I had grandkids and they use them and I like it. It helps support my adequate sleep at night. Other things you can do is stay socially connected. Those active, the mind games and things. You know, play those games that involve strategy. You can engage in artistic activities, things that will allow you to learn new things. We have a lot of things in our community that will support that. that you can, you know, maintain that brain health as you age.

Host: That's a lot of good tips, and I definitely feel called out by the sleep one, but I'll work on that on my own. So before our next question, we're going to pause for a moment to discuss the importance of primary care.

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Okay. So, we are back with our next question here. We'll shift a little bit from folks living with a disease or trying to avoid developing it. Do you have advice or resources for caregivers who might have somebody in their family who has the diagnosis?

Cindy DeGroot: Yeah, caregivers. That's an area that's near and dear to my heart. I started back many, many years ago in the mid-'80s, I think, leading a support group here that was called Children with Aging Parents. And now, have gone into the Alzheimer's support group. There are so many people with needs and questions in our community. And just by looking at the current caregiver facts and figures from the Alzheimer's Association that was just released recently, nearly 12 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer's or other dementias. Just think about that number, 12 million. They provide more than 19 billion hours and they're estimating these values at like $413 billion. So, most care for loved ones in their homes as long as they can. Some of it's financially-driven. We have to always remember too, the average length that somebody can have this disease is anywhere from eight to ten years. But it can be anywhere from two years to 20 years. So, it's a long disease process for most individuals and those families.

So, I think the biggest thing with caregivers is that they have the awareness that they get educated and really looking at resources in the community that can help support them on this journey. And I think some advice would be ask for help. It's okay. You shouldn't go on this journey alone, because sometimes you're the only care partner for that loved one, and you're there 24/7, seven days a week. So, partnering with your primary care provider, asking them about community resources, you know, help educate you on it. Looking for follow up with different community resources. We have education programs in our community all the time. We have them through Riverside. KCC has a lifelong learning institute that offers them different agencies in town offer them.

And I think the biggest thing for most family caregivers, I mean, I hear this in support group, they don't know what exists out there for them to help them on this journey. So, I think that's my advocacy for families right now. And it really increased when I became a family caregiver for my mom. She passed away two and a half years ago from the disease. But for that four years prior, I've been pretty well versed in this topic for like over 40 years. And I found resources that I didn't even know existed, and was really, like, "How did I not know this?" So now, even more than ever trying to share all of those with families is just top of my personal agenda and trying to instill and, you know, empower community agencies to all work together. And we have such strong support system. There's a memory cafe that is new in town with Catholic Charities. And that loved one, you're taking care of mom at home, and you kind of need a respite break. So, I may take mom to the memory cafe, and I sit there with her, but somebody else is kind of in charge of the activity, the engagement. And I can just kind of relax and enjoy and observe and connect with people that are experiencing the same thing that I am.

We have local food delivery programs that could be beneficial. Definitely local support groups. We are now up to like four in the community that are offered with different agencies. And when we get calls, I always encourage them, please attend one that is convenient for you time and day that you could just connect with someone to talk to that's experiencing in that same thing. Alzheimer's Association, alz.org, lots of handouts, videos, and they have a 24/7 helpline. That is available around the clock. It is manned by masters-prepared educators and consultants knowledgeable on the disease so they can help with any questions.

Host: Well, thank you for all those resources, and I'm sorry to hear about your personal experience with it, but we appreciate you taking that and turning it into help for other people who might be in the same situation. So when it comes to then Riverside Senior Life, what kind of care can folks get from Riverside Senior Life for somebody with dementia?

Cindy DeGroot: At Riverside Senior Life, when we look at how we can support families, number one, we can support you. We can help guide you. We can assist you in navigating the journey just through phone calls. There's not a week goes by that myself, Marsha, our social worker, or communities, we don't get just random phone calls just asking. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to begin. So, it starts with a phone call. So, make that connection. Participate in a support group. Our Riverside Alzheimer's support group is the second Tuesday of every month. And right now, we're partnering the next few months with some community agencies. June 10th, 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. We're going to welcome Alicia Kleinert. She is the owner of MCA Adult Day Center. She will be presenting. And then in August, we will be welcoming Catholic Charities to talk about their services as well too. We always have just staff that are there, myself and our social worker that can answer any other questions and help direct and guide them too.

Other resources we offer is respite care. And this is something I remember with my mom. We had planned like a year prior, a family vacation and thinking, "What are we going to do with mom?" She was still living at home at the time and my sister lived out of state. So through talking with different colleagues in the field, I learned about some dementia funding that was available through Catholic Charities that had been provided from the state, and it was for respite care for families. And so, we utilized that service and you can pick the community that you wanted your loved one in for like that week or two week for your vacation. It ended up being a smooth transition for my mom, because it did start with the respite care at Riverside Senior Life Memory Care. And then, because she was changing somewhat rapidly, we ended up just keeping her there. And so, sometimes that happens. Sometimes families will move their loved one in for a respite for one week or two weeks, and then they return back home if they're able.

We always have tours, the resources, you know, if you kind of just don't know. And it's really great to plan ahead. Mom or dad might still be navigating okay at home and nothing major has happened, but you'd rather make the decision and checkout communities prior to like a catastrophic event that forces you to make that decision on the spot. That way, you've spoken with staff, you've toured, you've observed, and you have a better feeling about making those decisions. But we're always just a phone call away.

Host: Well, it's great to have that resource here in the community and that variety of resources, I would say. So when it comes to, you know, these services that Riverside Senior Life provides, can you talk just a little bit about the training that the staff receive there to give people a little peace of mind about the care they're going to receive?

Cindy DeGroot: Okay. You asked me to talk just a little bit, but this is my world. So, hey. Sure enough, yeah, I can really get onto the education topic. I think it's important, especially if you're searching for a memory care community, to ask the question, ask them on those tours, do you educate your staff and how do you educate your staff or who on the team do you educate? Because some places, you know, they don't educate the entire team. So at Riverside Senior Life, we start with new employee orientation when somebody is hired. No matter what department you're hired in, independent, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehab, you attend our six-hour orientation dementia class because every employee touches the life of these individuals. Someone is cleaning their apartment, someone is preparing and serving their food. So, it's important that all team members have just an introduction to what the disease is and helping give a basic explanation of why are they doing what they're doing? Why are they saying what they are saying? But most importantly, to help teach our team that your approach a hundred percent affects how they respond and how they react.

There's this dementia expert that we use a lot in training, Teepa snow. And she says, it's not the disease that robs them of their dignity, but it's our reaction to them that does. And so, if we're not professionally prepared on saying the right thing, we can be that trigger that escalates them and causes more distress or an exacerbation of a behavior and we don't want to do that. Because we want to focus on their abilities and what they're still able to do, what they can do, they may do, they will do, not the things that they can no longer do. So, we have that introductory class.

We also request person-centered or life story information from our families and residents on all our new move-ins. Well, why is this important? Because we need to understand who they are, what was important to them, what hobbies they enjoyed, what music they love to listen to, foods they like to eat because as this disease progresses, they're going to lose the ability to communicate. And when we need to redirect them, we need to know something personal to redirect them with and who they were and what they were all about to support them along this disease process. And so, you know, it's easy when you know what that favorite song was. I know my mom, she was one that she became a little bit more agitated and sometimes she would tend to swear, which she never did in her life until this disease hit. And so instead of saying, "Mom, you can't say those words," "Mom, where did you learn that?" "Mom, you can't talk like that." We can't give them more conflict. We can't argue with them. But instead, I would go right to the CD player and put on Frank Sinatra. And within seconds, she'd be swaying in the chair and she'd be singing Frank. And it just redirected her so smoothly without any argument or more distress on her.

Other things we provide, we do some empathy-related training, kind of called Step in Their Shoes or Walk in Their Shoes where we do experiential kind of sensitivity training learning. It's really an eye-opener. It's like, "Wow, I had no idea." Our newest, I think innovative training that I'm like most proud of after all the years of providing dementia education. I kind of stalked this company for about a year and a half before they finally became public, where they were starting to do trainings, and now we have a great partnership with them. It's called Dementia Reality, and it is the first virtual reality education for dementia that teaches empathy. So, we train all of our staff and all of our departments, they have specific scenarios for the culinary team and for the activity team and for the clinical nursing team.

And so, what it is, it's just different modules and you put on the virtual reality, you put on the headset and you're seeing this scenario of the right way to interact and how the CNA, the nursing assistant should care for the patient, the resident. And then, another module, you see all the incorrect ways. And then, the third time when you're watching it, you are the resident. You're the patient. And so, you see when people are right in your face and they're arguing with you or not saying the right things, just how it feels, and it's like those aha moments.

So, it's really been very impactful for our staff. And we have a lot of content that we have discussions and exercises that go along with it, and that's really huge that you have that real life training, where they can relate, you know, at all ages of our employee team. Everybody receives training when they're hired on the Dementia Friends Illinois, which we're part of that state initiative that started back in 2017 to create dementia-friendly Illinois.

It's a great overview for all levels of employees in all departments. We do daily huddles, that we bring up our dementia topics to discuss. We have dementia monthly posters that we put out with different topics, and we reiterate them and review them with staff in our daily huddles, in our care conferences. On social media, you can find us. We offer on the senior life website or Facebook page, Alzheimer's Tip Tuesdays. So, all kind of care approaches that are available. We take it seriously. We want to be the best at what we do in delivering quality care and safe care to these individuals and their families. And we have to be prepared on our side.

Host: Well, I'm sure that makes a big difference to the folks who are there receiving care and the families who, you know, are looking for that support.

Cindy DeGroot: Absolutely.

Host: On that subject, then, for those people who are looking for that care, how can people get more information about Riverside's Memory Care Services?

Cindy DeGroot: You can contact a Riverside Senior Life Marketing and Sales Coordinators at 815-935-3273. You can also check us out on our website. It's www.riversideseniorlife.com. You can fill out an inquiry there and we will follow up and contact you right away.

Host: Awesome. So, I guess we're getting toward the end here. What would be the biggest takeaway that you would like listeners to have from this episode?

Cindy DeGroot: I think the biggest takeaway would be it's okay to ask for help. Educate yourself, increase your awareness. You don't have to face the journey alone. And I think really use all the community resources that are at your fingertips. Whether you're at home caring for your loved one and the community agencies that are all around to support, or if you're looking for a memory care community, schedule those tours and start asking the questions now.

Host: So, thank you. Thanks again for joining us today, Cindy.

Cindy DeGroot: Thank you. It's been an honor and privilege to assist and support these individuals on the journey.

Host: Awesome. Well, to learn more about Riverside Senior Life Communities, as Cindy mentioned, you can visit riversideseniorlife.com. And to our audience, thank you for tuning into Well Within Reach presented by Riverside Healthcare. Please take a moment to rate and leave a review for Well Within Reach on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about Riverside, visit riversidehealthcare.org.