Americans report fearing dementia more than cancer, stroke, and heart disease combined. The prevalence of dementia is on the rise, with people living longer and diagnosis occurring earlier in the disease trajectory. There is no doubt that Villages will be directly affected by the escalating numbers.
It is sobering to face the prospect of dementia, a years-long period where cognitive abilities and personal autonomy is gradually lost, and open discussion is generally avoided until problems are impossible to ignore. With paid caregiving shortages on the horizon, unpaid caregivers will be tasked to take on more of the workload.
Villages can provide meaningful assistance within the bounds of their mission by serving as an educational hub, hosting community events to help members learn about dementia causes, diagnosis, trajectory, possible mitigating treatments, and dispelling myths about dementia.
Participants in this webinar will learn the difference between dementia causing diseases and dementia itself, that dementia is a continuum rather than an either/or condition and what that means for the individual with dementia as well as the caregiver, paths to communication with family and medical providers, and the importance of care for the caregiver.
About the Presenter: Beverly Thorn is a licensed clinical psychologist and was a professor of psychology at The University of Alabama for 30 years, specializing in coping with chronic illness. She retired in 2016 to care for her husband, who died of dementia-related causes in 2020. She has since been certified as an End-of-Life Doula. She is the author of Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver, a cross-genre book that includes her personal caregiving experiences as well as facts, insights, and resources to help the caregiver cope with the long-term and changing nature of dementia care.