Hospice can provide support for Alzheimer's patients

Jul. 29—CUMBERLAND — Hospice can provide many services to help caregivers of late-stage dementia patients, said WVU Medicine Hospice Outreach and Education Coordinator Yvette Young-Epling.

The free support includes a nurse and aide who visit the patient's home several days per week to help with medical and personal care.

"The most common dementia that we see in the world of hospice would be Alzheimer's," Young-Epling said.

"Alzheimer's accounts for 60% to 80% of all dementias," she said and added vascular dementia, which can be developed after a stroke blocks an artery in the brain, is the second most common dementia in the United States.

"Many patients who have end-stage dementias live in nursing homes because their families simply cannot take care of them anymore (because) it just becomes so intense," she said.

"But the vast majority of hospice patients do in fact live in their own homes with a caregiver," Young-Epling said. "The caregiver just has an astronomical burden."

Sometimes, caregivers of dementia patients become physically and mentally exhausted, she said.

"They can barely go on," Young-Epling said. "Perhaps they haven't been sleeping because their loved one might be up all night."

To help, hospice offers respite care once per month for five days "to give the family a break," she said.

"Your loved one is cared for in a 24-hour setting and you don't have to be there," Young-Epling said.

"Everything hospice does is paid for," she said. "It's Medicare's best-kept secret because hospice utilization is very low in our country."

Another resource that accompanies the hospice benefit is spiritual care.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be tied to a specific religion (but) it certainly can be," Young-Epling said.

The spiritual counselor chaplain role in hospice allows a patient to talk about issues including their fear of death, or unfinished business, she said.

Additionally, a social worker is available to help the patient's family navigate difficult dynamics often involved with their loved one's death, Young-Epling said.

Sometimes, caregivers feel guilt because they are relieved when the caregiving burden is over, she said.

Families of patients with dementia first grieve the person they knew, and then mourn their loved one's death, Young-Epling said.

"We have support groups that they can come to," she said.

"All hospices do bereavement differently," Young-Epling said and added that her organization releases live butterflies to celebrate the lives of people who died. "Sometimes we do a slide show of their pictures."

She encourages folks in need to reach out to their local hospice organization.

"We're only a phone call away," Young-Epling said. "We always have your back."

Other local resources:

—UPMC Western Maryland offers Building Better Caregivers — a seven-week, interactive workshop for family caregivers of loved ones with dementia that covers areas including stress and emotions, difficult behaviors and legal issues. Registration is ongoing for virtual and in-person classes. To learn more, call 240-964-8424.

—UPMC Western Maryland also provides palliative care for patients with diagnoses including Alzheimer's disease. The medical specialty involves professionals that coordinate care with the patient's primary physician and other health care providers. To learn more, call 240-964-8939 or visit upmcwesternmaryland.com.

—The Allegany County Health Department offers an Adult Evaluation and Review Services program to assist clients with a variety of needs, and refers community members to local dementia support groups and the Alzheimer's Association as appropriate. To learn more, call 301-759-5210.

—The Garrett County Health Department also offers the AERS program. To learn more, call 301-334-9431.

—Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital help families of patients with dementia by referring them to various community agencies for assistance with items including meals, transportation, and housing. "They also provide educational materials to families on dealing and living with dementia," said Kimi-Scott McGreevy, GRMC's assistant vice president of marketing and development. "There is also Respite Care, which provides help with a dementia patient when the caregiver needs a break." To learn more, visit wvumedicine.org.

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.