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By Curtis Galbraith

Community

Local official hoping to reduce stigmas on World Alzheimer’s Day

Sep 21, 2020 | 5:30 AM

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and today is World Alzheimer’s Day.

Jennifer Simms with the Alzheimer’s Society office in Grande Prairie says she is hoping people will talk about Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“To be able to help reduce stigma and really be able to acknowledge that it is out there and that we’re able to live well with dementia.”

Simms says statistically, one in 11 people will be diagnosed with dementia by age 65, one in two by age 85. She says women are at a greater risk. She also says it seems to be happening more often as people are living longer but is hopeful that good brain health and education people will be supported and be able to live well with dementia.

She adds pandemic shutdowns have been especially hard on people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. They check with patients through a program called First Link and have found an increase in things like anxiety.

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“There are a lot more struggles as not all the supports have been available (like) before. We’re not able to be seeing people in person, so things like our support groups have been forced all online, those kinds of things, so it really is a lot harder to be out socially. One of the important pieces of brain health is having that social piece to it.”

Simms not having all the community supports available adds this can lead to more emergency room visits or more pressure to go into a care facility early, adding the pandemic has also changed how visits to someone in care are carried out.

She adds their physical office is closed because of the pandemic, but they are still taking clients. The Alzheimer’s Society office in Grande Prairie can be reached at 780-882-8770 or through their web site.

People are being encouraged to help out the Alzheimer’s Society today. Simms says people can use their imaginations to come up with a fundraiser.

“The ideas are limitless, whether it’s having a raffle, having an online talent show, (or) donating the proceeds from a garage sale. Anything like that that you can be able to raise some funds and raise awareness.”

She adds people who want to organize a fundraiser can reach out to the local office.

Simms says her organization will be hosting an online presentation with internationally recognized expert Dr. Allen Power today to mark World Alzheimer’s Day. He will be talking about everyday challenges made that much more challenging by the pandemic for patients and caregivers. A question and answer session will follow. Anyone who wants to take part can register here.