paul lea is 67 years old. he was diagnosed with vascular dementia , a form of the disease that occurs when the brain’s blood supply is blocked or damaged, often happening simultaneously with alzheimer’s. lea’s diagnosis came in 2009 after a stroke, a common cause of vascular dementia. he also suffers from diabetes and a mild case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd). when asked about life in self-isolation, he says, “i live alone, but i’m not lonely. i’m very comfortable with myself.”
for the half a million canadians living with some form of dementia and alzheimer’s, isolation was already a major issue. in a pandemic, it’s inescapable. that applies whether they’re living in the community like lea, or are placed in long-term care (ltc) homes.
the alzheimer’s society of canada’s blog includes tips for those living with dementia, as well as caregivers and families with loved ones in long-term care (ltc) homes.
the staff in these homes are also feeling the pressure of covid-19. beyond the obvious health risks, dementia care just became infinitely more challenging for personal support workers (psws) as they try to encourage patients with cognitive difficulties, such as memory loss, to follow hygiene procedures like hand washing.
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according to the alberta research program translating research in elder care , over 80 per cent of canadian nursing home residents have some kind of dementia, and with 600 nursing and retirement homes having reported covid-19 cases, the pandemic has struck this particular patient group in a uniquely brutal way.
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from toronto, lea uses skype to call his daughter in hamilton, ontario and zoom for meetings with the various groups he’s a part of, like the alzheimer’s society of toronto , dementia alliance international , ontario dementia advocacy group and age well.
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while lea is self-sufficient living on his own, for many families caring for someone with dementia or alzheimer’s, wandering is a worrisome issue. medicalert responded to more than 25 wandering or missing calls every month in 2019.
connect protect is a partnership between medicalert and canadian police forces that allows police to access “where [patients] live, who their caregiver is, their previous wandering record and how to return them safely home.” horlock says that on average, “users are reunited with their families or caregivers within 15 minutes to six hours.”
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