Sacramento Region, CA (MPG) - Dementia is not a disease.  It is a broad term used to describe a slow, severe decline in memory and reasoning skills that impact and interfere with daily life.  Even though the prevalence rate of dementia has fallen dramatically in recent years, there are still over 7 million American seniors today that have some form of dementia.

There are a large number of recognized diseases associated with dementia—Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s, Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome,  Lewy bodies to name just a few.  Alzheimer’s disease is by far the most prevalent and recognized form of dementia.  There are presently 5.5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s.  Someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease every 66 seconds (American Alzheimer’s Association).  That is 500,000 additional Americans every year.  By 2050, that number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase to 16 million.

Alzheimer’s disease results in the loss of brain cells and cognitive functioning abilities.  Even though it is a progressively degenerative and ultimately fatal disease, Alzheimer’s can be managed with treatment, care and changes to in daily environment and living conditions.

Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process.  However, increasing age is the number one risk factor involving the disease-with the vast majority of afflictions occurring in people 65 and older.

Family histories and genetics are not a major factor in the development of Alzheimer’s.  Some rare forms of dementia (such as Huntington’s disease) are inherited, but having a parent or grandparent with Alzheimer’s does not increase your overall risks compared to the rest of the population.  Less than 1% of all Alzheimer’s cases are thought to be linked genetically (Dr. Nick Fox, Institute of Neurology in London).

There are ten generally recognized warning signs of Alzheimer’s, that range from daily memory losses to decreased difficulties completing familiar tasks, to dramatic changes in moods and personalities.  Typical and normal age related changes, such as occasionally forgetting some names or appointment or misplacing items from time to time are not considered markers for Alzheimer’s.  A normal age related question would be:  “Where are my car keys?”  An Alzheimer’s warning sign might be:  “What are these keys for?”

There are a number of educational programs and seminars relating to Alzheimer’s research, care and development.  One such program is the Virtual Dementia Tour (developed by Second Wind Dreams), which briefly simulates dementia on a user in a controlled environment.  This tour is approximately 20 minutes long and consists of a 5 minute guided tour segment where the user is instructed to perform simple, household tasks while having simulated dementia characteristics, followed by an overview, cool down and debriefing period that explains what they had just experienced.  This program is intended to help provide understanding and empathy towards those afflicted with Alzheimer’s.

Carlie Beasley, of Summerset Assisted Living in Rancho Cordova, has been effectively using this program and finding immediate results, commenting:  “Our staff and family members have had dramatic experiences after going through this tour.  It has made a noticeable difference on how our staff interacts with memory care residents and how much more tolerant and empathetic family members are in dealing with their loved ones.”  Beasley is so impressed by the initial results of the tour, that she has offered to have her Summerset team provide this tour to anyone interested within the general public, adding:  “This is a compelling and possibly life-changing event that anyone remotely associated or touched by the effects of dementia should experience”.  Beasley can be reached at (916) 330-1300 or by visiting Summerset Rancho Cordova Assisted Living and Memory Care center at 2341 Vehicle Drive in Rancho Cordova.

Healing Hands-Healing Hearts Opens Carmichael Center

Carmichael, CA (MPG) - For many terminally ill patients, the process of transition often involves prolonged pain, fear and anxiety, among other things, creating difficult end-of-life decisions for caretakers, as well, and detracting from what should by right be a peaceful experience. But this need not be the case.

Healing Hands-Healing Hearts, a non-profit organization providing on-call, certified touch therapy to critically, chronically and terminally ill patients across Sacramento and Kern counties, has opened its first brick and mortar center in Carmichael, roughly seven years after being taken over by Bakersfield resident David Dowdy.  The non-profit is now sharing space with Compassion Central (formerly Enter the Orchid), run by Joan Marie, which offers meditative massage classes, meditation and yoga workshops, among other holistic-based programs.  Training courses for touch therapists will also now be held at the new location for Healing Hands.

The touch therapy, explains Dowdy, is intended to supplement traditional medical and end-of-life care processes. Therapy is provided in patients’ homes, long-term care and hospice facilities. The goal is to deliver them an additional remedy for relief from pain, fear, anxiety and isolation, and, in many cases, provide patients with a channel for spiritual reconnection, while gaining a renewed sense of dignity.

Therapists certified under the nonprofit’s “Touch Therapy for the Terminally Ill” program include certified nurse’s assistants (CNAs), massage therapists, energy workers and individuals, many of whom are family members of the terminally ill who simply want to learn how to help guide their loved-ones through a more peaceful, pain-free transition.  Being part of the transition process, says Dowdy, helps family members shift their focus away from the fears connected to loss toward what should be a joyful celebration of life.

“For the family member, this is a way to get involved in the experience and feel more empowered,” says Dowdy. “So much of the time they sit by the bedside or near a person in a wheelchair and feel totally hopeless. Often when I’m visiting a patient, I invite them to stand on the other side of the bed and mimic what I’m doing, learn the process. You’d be surprised how much relief this gives them and how much it impacts the patient’s ability to reconnect with their own mind, body and spirit so that they can make that transition in peace.”

Touch therapy is different from massage therapy.  It doesn’t involve the use of oils or creams.  Patients do not need to disrobe and they are “treated” just where they are, whether that’s a bed or a wheel chair, eliminating the need for to be moved from one place to another.  The approach to dying is holistic and works through a combination of traditional massage with touch pressure along various points on the body.  Treatments, says Dowdy, help restore circulation, reduce pain, aid with digestive issues, and enhance the immune system, which often can be “clogged up” by an accumulation of the same pain medications used to treat the initial illness. 

Also, and perhaps just as important as the clinical results, touch therapy, says Dowdy, works to help a patient release from fears and anxieties around their death, making it possible to reengage with loved ones and themselves, creating a more human experience for everyone involved.

“What we find with touch therapy is that often patients who are otherwise not talking or communicating with family members, or are unable to move do to pain or prolonged sitting or being confined to a bed, become lucid, are able to take part in the process of transitioning and, in some cases, start communicating again,” says Dowdy.

In fact, in some cases terminally ill patients with less than a month to live, says Dowdy, have gone on to extend that period out for several months, the longest a year.  Many patients get to say goodbye to their family members, whereas before touch therapy treatments, were nonresponsive, isolated in their illness.

“I’ve had three patients come out of commas and get to say goodbye to family members,” Dowdy says. “What we are doing, through the power of touch is, in many cases, helping to create a physical space for leaving, often for patients who just aren’t ready to go out of fear of leaving those they love behind.”

Dowdy, who left a 20-year career in the geological sector as a design engineer “completely burnt out,” was always interested in massage therapy. 

“I wanted to do something for myself, but also learn to do something I could pass on to others as a way to help them feel better,” Dowdy said.  “My wife saw I was burnt out, and I had always told my kids to do what you love. So I had to retool my career and figure out what was coming next.”

What came next for Dowdy was enrollment in a 16-week massage therapy training course in Citrus Heights, followed by several months of volunteering while healing from heart valve replacement surgery.  Then, through a series of events, Dowdy says he was asked to attend a board meeting in Sacramento for Healing Hands-Healing Hearts, then under the direction of Jo Williams, who founded the organization in Sacramento in 2001.  He’d been looking for a way to parlay the massage therapy training into a new career working more closely with terminally ill patients.  So, when it was announced at that meeting that Healing Hands was going to dissolve, he immediately took action.

“This was exactly the kind of business I wanted to start for myself,” Dowdy said.  “So when it was announced that it was going to close, I knew what I needed to do and I had my lawyer draw up transfer papers and take it from there. It was actually very simple.”

While the mission of Healing Hands has remained primarily intact under Dowdy and Marie’s vision, the menu of services is expanding and training courses have become more structured under a new, comprehensive training manual for touch therapists, crafted by Dowdy.  In addition, Dowdy and Marie, are launching a new component of the Healing Hands mission, expanding its reach to veterans.  The Alfred J. Goularte Veterans Care Program, named after Marie’s father, a WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army’s airborne division from 1943 to 1945 will help veterans who, although not necessarily terminal, suffer from a range of chronic health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fibromyalgia, depression and injury related pain.

Healing Hands-Healing Hearts currently has a roster of roughly half a dozen certified touch therapy massage workers, in addition to Dowdy and Marie, and is currently operating on donations from grants and fees from training courses.  Its current, major supporters include the Spiritual Center for Positive Living, Mercy Springs Foundation and Kern Community Foundation.

Touch Therapy certification classes are open to all and the next one on the calendar is a 16-week course scheduled to begin in November in Bakersfield.  Courses typically run about $225.00, Dowdy said.

Long term, the vision is to expand even further, with Healing Hands-Healing Hearts brick and mortar “branches” dotting country as, according to Marie, who now serves as the organization’s vice president, western culture grows ever-more open to non-traditional avenues for caring for the terminally ill.

“We, as a culture, especially among millennials, are more than ready for a different approach to end-of-life care,” says Marie. “We say ‘rest in peace’ when someone passes.  But the truth is, we all have a human right to rest in peace while we are alive.”

wwwhealinghandshealinghearts.org 

Carmichael, CA (MPG) - The beat goes on. Feet keep dancing. Despite the recent death of Sacramento bandleader John Skinner, his musicians promise to maintain the Skinner tradition for family fun. A free dance – which his band hopes will become an annual tradition – is offered for all ages.

Are 40 years of performances for the Carmichael Park District, Skinner’s concerts remain a popular part of the summer concert season. Before his death, the bandleader committed to sponsor a big knees-up to unite neighborhoods. “The community that dances together advances together,” reasoned Skinner, himself an avid hoofer. His band is still working and available for gigs. Its October 15 line-up will include, rock, swing, ballads and line dances. Ballroom dancers, social shufflers and children are welcome. There will also be contests and prizes.

The first annual Carmichael Community Dance will be dedicated in John Skinner’s honor at 2 pm on Sunday October 15. La Sierra Community Center , 5325 Engle Rd., will host the event. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. For information, call (916) 485-5322.

Sacramento Region, CA (MPG) - There’s a happening club in that caters to a select clientele: people with dementia.

The Respite Club is packed with fun activities, music, dancing, games and exercise. A mid-morning snack is provided as well as a full lunch. It is open approximately 10 days per month, five hours a day and is striving to increase its hours of operation.

“Our doors open at 9:30 a.m. and we are on the move until 2:30 p.m. when we end our day,” notes Activity Coordinator Terri Lyman. “We focus on mental, physical and social stimulation. It is a place where participants can fit in and be themselves, and usually they make friends quickly.”

While club goers enjoy themselves, family caregivers take advantage of the “respite” aspect of the program: time for themselves. Caring for a loved one with dementia can be overwhelming – emotionally, physically, mentally and financially. Caregivers need time to run errands, see friends or just be alone.

Bobby, a volunteer, observed, “The Club gives participants a sense of belonging and caregivers needed freedom.” He knows, his father attends the program.

“Our goal is to bring peace of mind and support to families touched by dementia,” says Program Coordinator Flora Maloney, who over the past 17 years has grown the program from three hours a month to 50. “When caregivers are rested, they are better able to face the challenges of caring for a person with a disease such as Alzheimer’s. When care recipients are happy and relaxed, it contributes to a better relationship between caregiver and care recipient.”

The Respite Club was recently recognized by the 100+ Women Who Care Sacramento chapter who selected them as the winner of a pitch competition among local nonprofits. The prize, approximately $10,000, will be put toward expanding the program.

This is good news for participants like Ann who noted, “The club is a great place to meet people and enjoy doing interesting things. We all enjoy the projects and the good meals.”

The Respite Club hosts an annual Caregiver Day event, which provides information on a variety of topics to help caregivers navigate the challenges of caring for a loved one. Several professionals, including a trust and estate attorney, a marriage and family counselor, a tax preparer/financial planner, a care manager and an end-of-life coach, as well as many others, donate their time and offer free 30-minute private consultations with caregivers. This year’s event also features panel discussions on home modifications to prolong living at home, and care for the caregiver, as well as a talk on caregiver resources.

Caregiver Day is Saturday, October 21, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Cordova Neighborhood Church, 10600 Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova. There is no charge to attend. Consultations are restricted to family caregivers but everyone is welcome to attend the presentations and visit the tables of the various professionals. For more information or to register for private consultations, call (916) 635-5147.

The Respite Club not only benefits the participants and their caregivers but all who come in contact with it. Glenda, the Respite Club bookkeeper, shared, “I came to the Respite Club 15 years ago when my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I am so grateful for the love, compassion and care we found here. I decided I definitely wanted to be part of such a wonderful program. What a blessing for the caregivers, care recipients, volunteers and staff.”

Rebecca Graulich is the Assistant Program Coordinator at The Respite Club and the chair of the Sacramento County Adult & Aging Commission. She can be reached (916) 635-5147 or rebeccag@respiteclub.org.