Julie W. Goodman, Lbsw And Her Credentials

When it comes to cultural issues pertaining to this issue, Alzheimer's disease and dementia affect all racial and ethnic peoples. Communities of color and other historically underserved groups often encounter problems when accessing services or information about Alzheimer's disease. Because of this, the local chapter is working to increase awareness of the disease and understanding about the obstacles to service for rural communities, ethnic groups, and communities of color. This though should not be a reason people do not step out on their own and seek help

Cindy Foster is an 83-year-old white female who is seeking services to cope with recent environmental, psychological, and physical changes. She requires assistance with daily living and currently resides with her daughter in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Cindy is a widow and has two children, a son and a daughter, who both live in Campbellsville. She is retired from previous part-time employment, and currently receives public assistance through social security, Medicaid and Medicare. Cindy attends a daily Alzheimer 's respite care facility in Campbellsville, where she has also developed a significant relationship with one of the male clients.

At Rosener House, our group focused on the outcome goals for improving the quality of care for Alzheimer’s participants, which includes the objectives and initiatives that Healthy People 2020 has laid out for the elderly population. Our target population has cognitive and some physical impairments that may lead to frustration, agitation, and antisocial behavior. The participants have the same health concerns as the rest of the elderly population with additional complications of dementia. The key for this group of adult day care residents is to involve their primary caregivers in all of the education sessions, monitoring, and lifestyle changes.

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

Research show that in 2013, over 9.5% of seniors over the age of sixty-five lived in poverty with the percentage increasing as an individual’s age increases (McNeal, 2016). These statistics does not account for the other issues which affects families and caretakers when addressing the well-being of their loved ones and the inadequate access to long term care.

Anita Rosen, MSW, Ph.D is retired and now works as a professional volunteer and consultant. She serves the American Society on Aging (ASA) as: Representative to the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), the premier advocacy coalition of the nation's non-profit organizations serving older Americans; and, Representative to the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging. She serves on the ASA Policy Response Team and Policy Committee and on the ASA Mental Health and Aging Network Leadership Council. She is an Editorial Reviewer of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and Families in Society.

When presented with the word “elderly,” a twenty-year-old might begin to think of the joys of retirement when an older person has spent their life building a comfortable bank account; they then get to reward themselves by journeying around the world with their near and most dear companion. When reality sets in, that person may realize that a lot of today’s elderly are living in nursing homes or living week-by-week not knowing if they are going to be able to leave their hospital bed just to go relax in their recliner at home. While it is true that some elderly enjoy their last twenty or thirty years on earth, a lot of the elderly in America are struggling to hang on to life while being abused every day by healthcare workers or even loved ones. While many people have been working endlessly to put a stop to elder abuse, not everyone can say the same.

As many of us know today Baby Boomers and some of Generation X’s are coming to the age of retirement. Many of them have learned that just finding a place for them to retire or a great nursing home difficult. Many times, we find out too late that the place we chose is not the place we would like to be. All too often the people don't care how they treat people or their belongings because the people or item don't belong to them. We may want to stay in a place that we built and know better, or where we raised our love ones. To many times we have to fight our loved ones to go somewhere like nursing homes, but this way everyone wins.

Our client, Ertha Williams is a 99 year old female who lives alone in a low-income apartment complex on the second floor in Monroe, Michigan. Ertha suffers from chronic kidney disease and has a history of hypertension and type one diabetes. Due to her chronic kidney disease Ertha has regular scheduled dialysis appointments three times a week, but since the death of her son and husband and her inability to drive it is difficult for Ertha to get to her dialysis appointments. She also has difficulties preparing the multiple medication she is required to take to manage her hypertension and diabetes. After her last dialysis appointment the nurse reported that Ertha appeared frail and emaciated. Ertha herself also stated that she worries about financial issues frequently and has good and bad days occasionally. Based on these findings Ertha is in need of some assistance to help alleviate some of the problems and stresses she is undergoing. Several nursing diagnoses can be established based on Ertha’s current situation and through these diagnoses it will be easier to establish what kind of services Ertha will need from the surrounding community of Monroe and what types of barriers she might encounter in attempting to access these services.

On February 7, 2011 I attended the Alzheimer’s support group held at St. Roberts Adult Daycare Center in St. Charles, Missouri. Tina Joyner facilitated this group of nine caregivers and three students. There were two groups conducted simultaneously; one for the caregivers, the other for the individual who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The

The mission of JFCS is to empower individuals to make positive changes through the implementation of professional, affordable counseling and support services within the greater Long Beach and West Orange County areas (JFCS, n.d.). JFCS currently offers a variety of programs serving the needs of children with services extending to meet the needs of older. Currently, JFCS offers programs to seniors as a way to support the older members to live with dignity and independence. Some of the older adult services currently offered include assessments and referrals, case management, counseling, support groups and financial assistance, regardless of the individuals’ religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. Additionally, many of the older adult support services offered by JFCS are available to those who provide care for an older adult. JFCS’s Director of Older Adult Services, Christina Goldman, MSW, ACSW, endorsed this project (personal communication, June 10,

I was introduced to in-home social work during my undergraduate internship with Monroe County Long Term Home Health Care Program. By offering services at home, this program provided chronically ill individuals an alternative to institutional care. I developed assessment skills and gained a more holistic understanding of my clients based on their home environments. Moreover, a family portrait or a handmade quilt from pre-arthritis times provided me a historical context for the individual. Viewing a faded snapshot of a smiling young woman with her long ago friends helped me to more deeply understand the failing and lonely woman in front of

It was encouraging to hear Ms. VanAmerongen state that this concept could be done everywhere. In the

Danielle’s volunteering at the Alzheimer’s project has been such a joy. As an office volunteer, her job included welcoming caregivers of individuals with dementia and providing info and recommendations to families. Danielle is incredibly humble and shows her value through her hard work, when required, she would help write thank you cards, answer phones, and organize emails. She is very committed concerning serving patients and families who have dementia, she constantly exceeds are expectations and happily takes on any task, no matter how tough it may be. She is always eager to learn, which makes her a reliable volunteer, she is passionate about helping those in distress.

The book As We Are Now, written by May Sarton, targets those concerned with the care of elderly individuals in nursing homes. In the book, Sarton artistically highlights the plethora of ongoing issues social workers face in their work as they attempt to provide quality care to the elderly population. The book is written as the memoirs of a very thoughtful elderly woman, Caroline Spenser, as she spent part of her life in a nursing home; and brings to light the lack of quality of care that elderly individuals received when living in such a facility in the 1970’s.