Learn About Alzheimer's Disease

     To help understand Alzheimer’s Disease and to learn how it affects communication, Koochiching Aging Options and ACT on Alzheimer’s are hosting a free public presentation by the Alzheimer’s Association the evening of October 15. The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the theatre of Rainy River Community College, 1501 Highway 71 in the Falls.

            The presentation is for anyone who would like to know more about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Those who attend will learn about the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia and how they affect the brain.

            Addressed in the presentation will be risk factors, diagnosis and states of the disease as well as treatment and hope for the future. A second part of the presentation will address communication, behavior and memory loss and how the disease impacts communication. The prevention of negative reactions during communication will be discussed.

            The presenter will be Deborah Richman, vice president for education and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She has presented at the national, state and local level for a variety of professional health related organizations and community groups. She has provided project consultation and training in the areas of communication and memory loss, dementia related behaviors and therapeutic program development as well as training for direct care staff in residential care settings. Among other qualifications, she is certified by the Alzheimer’s Association to offer Foundations of Dementia Care.

            Alzheimer’s Disease and related forms of dementia are affecting increasing numbers of families in Koochiching County and across the country. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia. Estimates are that one in nine persons age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s Disease or a related dementia. Numbers affected are expected to increase as the Baby Boomers age.

            Call Koochiching Aging Options at 218-283-7030 with questions. 

Caregivers Provide Invaluable Support

According to an AARP Public Policy Institute study, 40 million non-professional caregivers, usually family or friends, provide up to 37 billion hours of assistance to care receivers. This breaks down to those 40 million people providing an average of 18 hours a week helping friends and loved ones with health care needs. Perhaps most amazingly, according to that same study this accounts for over a whopping $470 BILLION in savings to family, the health care industry, and federal and state agencies. 

This type of caregiving can come in many forms: getting groceries for a relative—helping someone with a walker into or out of a car—shoveling snow from a neighbor’s driveway—taking a loved one to a medical appointment—or even simply calling your grandfather to remind him to take his pills—these are all caregiving situations that may seem small, but are in all actuality great benefits to people’s lives. 

Given the above statistics from AARP’s study on caregiving and the United States’ increasingly older population, the role of non-professional caregivers is only going to become more important. Thus, there will likely also be an increase in the potential stress and strain on caregivers in the coming years.

As the Minnesota Board on Aging comments in their Caregiver Resource Guide, “each caregiving experience is unique. You will have changing needs, feelings, trials and rewards. Your experience will change over time. Yet, one thing is for sure. All caregivers need to find balance.” Finding balance, and reducing caregiver “burnout,” is an essential component in maintaining and increasing the important role of caregivers in helping to improve the quality of life for America’s aging population.

Koochiching Aging Options (KAO) has a number of resources designed to help caregivers in their personal journeys. From guides, such as the Minnesota Board on Aging booklet; to services for older adults; to legal briefs and forms such as Power of Attorney; to our on-staff Caregiver Consultant; KAO’s resources are there to offer caregivers, and the invaluable work they do, a needed helping hand. 

KAO’s Web-site Gets Update

Koochiching Aging Options has a new digital media outlet. KAO staff has been working to give the organization’s web-site an update and the results are a slimmed-down site that provides more information in a straightforward manner. Visitors to the site at www.koochichingagingoptions.org can find information on how the organization was founded, services available to older adults in Koochiching County, how to volunteer, how to donate and information on past and upcoming events. Check out the new site the next time you are wandering around our digital neighborhood. 

Great June for Groceries to You! Program

There has been an uptick in the Groceries to You! program. If June’s numbers of clients and orders are indicative of a trend, the program is being accessed by more and more residents of the greater International Falls area. 

The program received a record number of orders during one week in June, keeping order taker Karen Bruyere busy all morning long. After adding a number of new clients in June, the program is beginning to match Koochiching Aging Options

staff expectations.

The volunteers who shop and deliver grocery orders were also kept busy, especially with the addition of new shopping forms guiding them through the aisles of grocery stores. The new shopping forms are in the “field testing” stage and have been designed to add more consistency, flexibility, and information to the shopping process.

The success of the program in June can be attributed to the efforts KAO’s volunteers who are committed to providing this vital service to those older adults in need of assistance with getting food stuffs. As conceived, the G2Y! program is designed to help keep older adults in the International Falls area in their homes longer and KAO volunteers are working hard to accomplish this goal.

Long-Term Care Rights to be Addressed

The State of Minnesota provides a service to educate and also to advocate for adults navigating the complex landscape of long-term care. The Office of the Ombudsman for Long-Term Care helps thousands of Minnesotans each year. To provide an introduction to long-term care and the office of the Ombudsman, Maisie Blaine, the regional ombudsman, will provide a free community presentation on Tuesday evening, June 9.

            The office advocates for adults needing or receiving long-term care. An ombudsman can provide information and consultation among a range of areas, including consumer rights, service options, and regulations. The office can also investigate and work to resolve individual complaints ranging from quality of care to access to services.

            The free presentation will be held in Room 101 at Backus Community Center, 900 Fifth Street, in the Falls. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the 6:30 event. Coffee and cookies will be served. Call Koochiching Aging Options with questions at 283-7030.

Volunteer Luncheon Brings Reflections—May 14, 2015

May 14 saw the annual Koochiching Aging Options’ volunteer appreciation luncheon at Lenard’s at the AmericInn in International Falls.

The luncheon is a chance for KAO to give thanks and appreciation to the folks who drive the mostly volunteer-led services offered to the community. It is also an opportunity for volunteers to get together and learn more about one another. Fifteen volunteers representing the Board of Directors, Groceries to You! and Senior Wheels programs attended the luncheon where attendees enjoyed a creamy wild rice soup, sandwich buffet and dessert.

During the conversation portion of the luncheon volunteers discussed numerous topics including the importance of KAO’s services to the county’s aging population, ACT on Alzheimer’s initiatives and, perhaps most importantly, why people volunteer. This last discussion topic was especially thoughtful as volunteers reflected on their own reasons for volunteering. Answers ranged from: “I like to get off the couch,” to “I feel it is my time to give back,” to “if I don’t, who will?”

The central point to this discussion of volunteerism was that overwhelmingly many of our volunteers felt the need to serve—a type of calling that drove them to give of their time to others. KAO is excited to be one of the organizations these folks have chosen as a place to help them serve their community.

As with many of KAO’s events, door prizes were offered and volunteers had the opportunity to win t-shirts, cooler pouches, beverage containers and a kitchen utility set. These door prizes were donated by various organizations. 

KAO staff was happy to host the luncheon and repay, in this small way, the time and energy invested by our volunteers in helping Koochiching County’s older residents!

KAO at Women’s Health & Wellness Night—May 7, 2015

A night of laughs and information is a great way to describe the first annual Women’s Health & Wellness Night sponsored by the Rainy Lake Medical Center Foundation.

Koochiching Aging Options was in on the fun as we (wo)manned a booth on the Backus Community Center’s stage in International Falls. Along with other area service and product providers, KAO Board Member Sarah Monahan and Caregiver Consultant/Program Specialist Gary Kaunonen spoke with hundreds of women who were enjoying a night out during the health and wellness expo.

The night’s theme centered on laughter as one of the best forms of “medicine” in treatment options. The night’s keynote speaker was Karla Heeter who spoke on the power of laughter in the face of daunting medical issues. Her presentation, entitled “If You’re too Busy to Laugh, You’re too Busy,” was both comical and touching.

The night ended with door prize giveaways, and among the other prizes handed out that night was a nicely appointed KAO logo t-shirt. It was a night of fun and information centered around women’s health and wellness, and KAO was happy to be a participant.  

ACT on Alzheimer’s Community Forum

The public is invited to attend a community forum on Tuesday January 27 to help vote on top priorities to make the greater International Falls area more dementia friendly.

The forum is the culmination of a six month planning process of the Greater International Falls ACT on Alzheimer’s initiative, a local effort following a pioneering statewide model to identify areas of need and then take action to address them.  

The community meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Commons at Rainy River Community College. Local team members will anchor discussion topics at the meeting, working toward consensus about how to ACT on Alzheimer’s locally.

 Greater International Falls is one of 33 areas in Minnesota working to become a “Dementia-friendly Community” where safety, respect and appropriate services are available to the person who is diagnosed as well as to their family and friends. It is also an effort to educate community members about the realities of the disease.