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Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities interfering with everyday life. Today, an estimated 6.2 million people are living with Alzheimer's. Every 65 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's. This disease gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Unless a cure or prevention is found, by 2050 14 million people will have Alzheimer's.

This disease is a brain disorder that affects the neuron transmitters found in the brain. When these neuron transmitters don't function properly, the ability to do daily activities and the thought process is badly affected.

Signs of Alzheimer's

  • Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks

  • Memory  Loss

  • Problems with Language

  • Disorientation to Time & Place

  • Misplacing Things

  • Changes in Mood or Behavior

  • Changes in Personality

  • Loss of Initiative

Resources

Alzheimer's not only affects the individual, but all loved ones too.

Many families try to take care of the person at home. This can have an enormous physical, emotional and financial impact on caregivers and families. It's essential to get support and plan to manage through the years ahead.

Elder Law

Elder Law

Attorneys who work in the field of elder law bring more to their practice than an expertise in the appropriate area of law. They also have knowledge of the senior population and their unique needs as well as the myths related to competence and aging. They are aware of the physical and mental difficulties that often accompany the aging process. Because of their broad knowledge base they are able to more thoroughly address the legal needs of their clients.

Lavin Law Group, LLC

877-822-6424

​The Lavin Law Group, LLC was started with the goal of representing clients in a way that maximizes their independence and minimizes the stress and burden placed on loved ones. Our clients come to us from all walks of life. We have clients in crisis and some who are just approaching retirement. However, all of our clients have one thing in common: each and every one of them was smart enough to develop a personalized estate plan for the preservation and protection of their wealth. We invite you to explore this site or contact our office if you are in need of assistance in the following areas:

  • Protecting your family in a nursing home crisis situation

  • Estate & Tax Planning

  • Creation of Wills, Trusts, Living Wills, and necessary Powers of Attorney

  • Probate Avoidance

  • Estate Administration

  • Guardianships

  • Medicaid & Veterans Benefit Planning/Eligibility

  • Disability/Special Needs Planning

  • Medicaid Estate Recovery

  • Asset Protection

Senior Care Agencies

Senior Care Agencies

Buckeye Home Health Care

877-291-3780

Buckeye Home Health Care's mission is guided by our philosophy that patients recover more quickly at home where they are the most comfortable. In-home care simply leads to greater independence, reduced hospitalizations, and better outcomes, day-in and day-out.

Home healthcare services allow for medical treatments in the most comfortable environment – your home. The beauty of home healthcare is that it can be short or long-term and can change over time. You only get services when and how you need them.

Visiting Angels Westside

513-598-6770

​Senior care from Visiting Angels Cincinnati is provided by some of the best elder companions around. Our caregivers truly enjoy helping others and have committed themselves to treating clients with dignity and respect. Visiting Angels Cincinnati works with families in Arlington Heights, Mount Healthy, North College Hill, and throughout the Western Cincinnati Area. Some of the popular types of senior care services we provide are:

  • Social Care – teaches seniors how to utilize technology to keep in touch

  • Companion Care – provides loved ones with help to make independent living possible

  • Alzheimer’s or Dementia Care – specialized care for memory disorders

  • Palliative Care – attends to the whole needs of the individual

  • Personal Care – provides customized assistance at home

  • Ready-Set-Go Home Care – helps seniors avoid hospital readmission

Visiting Angels West Chester

513-942-5600

​We are one of the most trusted elderly care agencies in the West Chester area. Families depend on us to provide much needed assistance at home. The non-medical services our locally owned and operated agency provides enable seniors to fulfill their wishes of living at home. Many seniors dread the idea of being forced to leave their homes and elderly care from Visiting Angels West Chester can help them avoid an unwanted move. Helping seniors has been a goal of Visiting Angels since it was first created.

 

We are proud to help families in Blue Ash, Middletown, Fairfield, Loveland, and throughout the West Chester area.

Senior Living Communities

Senior Living Communities

Arden Courts of Kenwood

513-745-9600

​Arden Courts Memory Care Community, located on E. Galbraith Road in Cincinnati caters to the special needs of individuals with memory loss. Staffed by specially trained caregivers, Arden Courts cares for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Each Arden Courts features friendly common spaces, inviting kitchen and family rooms and walking paths within enclosed courtyards, all designed for the safety and comfort of our residents.

Beyond the layout of Arden Courts, we focus on maximizing the capabilities of our residents and fostering maximum independence through engaging programming, and professional assistance available 24-hours a day.

Artis Senior Living of Bridgetown

513-836-8000

Artis Senior Living of Bridgetown, OH, is a memory care residence devoted to the dignity, wellbeing, and fulfillment of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. We believe positive partnerships are the tools that promote active communication and make customized care possible. Through Partner Profiles, resident, associate, and family councils, and with the assistance of our Director of Partnership Development, individuals are encouraged and empowered to participate in their own care.

Artis Senior Living of Mason

513-223-3681

Artis Senior Living of Mason, OH, embraces partnership as the path to meaningful, fulfilling residential living and memory care. Built on 4.5 acres of beautifully landscaped land northeast of downtown Cincinnati, Artis of Mason is intentionally designed to meet the individual needs of residents, while promoting an interactive community. Four distinct neighborhoods, complete with home style dining rooms, open kitchens, and family rooms connect at the Town Center, where residents come together for events, to create, or to visit the beauty salon or barber shop.

Barrington of Oakley

513-904-4571

At Barrington of Oakley in Cincinnati, you can experience all that life has to offer while we take care of the rest with care and dedication. Barrington of Oakley offers Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care. The Barrington of Oakley’s new Memory Care neighborhood offers residents coping with Alzheimer’s and dementia an opportunity to reside, dine, and enjoy activities in a supportive atmosphere unlike any other. Living in one-bedroom apartment homes, residents in our Memory Care neighborhood enjoy 24-hour nursing and personal care assistance, energizing programs and entertainment, and personalized care plans. With a beauty salon and barbershop and a secure outdoor patio to enjoy, residents can relax and live life at their own pace. Staffed by experienced and passionate caregivers, Barrington of Oakley’s Memory Care community promotes dignity and independence in a loving and caring environment.

Barrington of West Chester

513-342-3215

Barrington of West Chester offers both Independent Living and Assisted Living lifestyle options for our residents, who can always tailor their level of care to their needs. Apartments are so spacious and well appointed that you’ll marvel at the care and attention given to every detail. There are eight different one- and two-bedroom units in floor plans of your choice, equipped with washer and dryer, cable TV, weekly housekeeping, and our Stanley System, our state-of-the-art phone system that provides residents a link to our Resident Care Coordinators for their health and security.

Carespring

1-888-248-7799

At Carespring we provide personal, positive care for seniors and those in need of transitional and rehabilitative services, as well as long term nursing care. We are proud to serve the Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky areas, providing exceptional therapy and a life enriching atmosphere to our patients. Our dedicated teams of caregivers strive to provide the most comprehensive care available. Transitional Care goes beyond an excellent therapy experience. At Carespring, our Transitional Care patients become part of our family the moment they enter one of our buildings, receiving top notch service from their therapy teams, dedicated nurses, nutritional teams and activities coordinators. In Carespring facilities, we are proud to provide care that goes above and beyond for our skilled care patients, as well. We are more than simply nursing homes. Caregivers make concerted efforts to focus on the comfort and satisfaction for our skilled care patients, making them feel like their Carespring facility is their home away from home. At Carespring, our patients truly become our family. If you are in need of Transitional Care or Long Term Skilled Care in a nursing home for yourself or a loved one in Cincinnati, Dayton or Northern Kentucky, we encourage you to come experience the Carespring Difference.

Magnolia Springs Loveland

513-813-5733

Magnolia Springs embraces the fact you are your own person, different, unique, one-of-a-kind—with your own lifestyle, pursuits, and hopes for the future. Even better, we celebrate it! Each and every day. That’s just our way. The Magnolia Springs Way. At Magnolia Springs, residents in Assisted Living enjoy freedom, choice, and flexibility even though they need a little assistance with the activities of daily living. 

Memory Way at Magnolia Springs embraces and celebrates everything our residents do—from dressing for the day to baking a cake or writing a letter. Using our nationally recognized Heartfelt CONNECTIONS™ Memory Care Program, we capture details about each resident’s family, friends, career, hobbies, likes, and dislikes. Then we apply that lasting legacy of details to daily activity programming—creating success stories one small victory at a time.

Ridgewood Health Campus

812-260-1038

Our elegant residential facility offers the best in assisted living services, and our freestanding Legacy Neighborhood incorporates progressive and proven dementia care components in private suites. In this neighborhood, our caregivers are specially trained to work with, and to care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. In our state-of-the-art health center, we offer skilled nursing care, delivered by a staff of committed professionals with attention paid to every detail. Whether for a few days, a few weeks, or for as long as you need us…It’s comforting to know that there is a source in Lawrenceburg you can turn to for help and guidance.

The Legacy at Liberty Ridge

513-342-1825

At The Legacy at Liberty Ridge, we’re dedicated to serving those with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia by creating an environment that promotes comfort, dignity and joy. Here, you’ll find groundbreaking programming, gorgeous surroundings, and an entire team of trained caregivers dedicated to providing compassionate Memory Care services.

Hospice

Hospice

Bella Care Hospice

513-554-6300

​Many people think that hospice is what you do when there is "nothing more" that can be done for an illness. Hospice is the "something more" that can be done for the patient and family when the illness cannot be cured. It is a concept based on comfort oriented care. Bella Care Hospice is a compassionate team of doctors, nurses, social workers, bereavement and spiritual coordinators, volunteers, and therapists who meet medical, physical, and emotional needs of patients, communities, and families. 

Even more than 25 years after its introduction to this country, hospice is a mystery to many Americans. Now, more than ever, there is a sense of urgency to dispel the myths and to learn as much as possible about hospice. After all, when Bella Care Hospice is involved with people, the quote we hear most often is “I wish that we had learned about this sooner.”

Additional Resources

Additional Resources

Alzheimers.gov

​Alzheimers.gov is the government's free information resource about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Here you can find links to authoritative, up-to-date information from agencies and organizations with expertise in these areas.

Alzheimer's Foundation of America

​The mission of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is to provide support, services and education to individuals, families and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias nationwide, and fund research for better treatment and a cure.

AFA was founded in 2002 by a caregiver whose mother lived with Alzheimer’s disease from 1980-1992. At that time, there was little information available and nowhere to turn for support.  His goal was to make sure that no other family living with Alzheimer’s disease would have to go the journey alone.

AFA was created to be that resource for families in their time of need. AFA operates a National Toll-Free Helpline (866-232-8484), staffed entirely by licensed social workers, which provides support and assistance to callers, as well as connect them with resources in their area, no matter where in the United States they live.  The helpline has grown into a seven-day a week service.  AFA’s national network of more than 2,800 member organizations serves families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses in each of the fifty states.

Caring.com

Family caregivers tend to the health and well-being of their aging parents, spouses and other loved ones, often while juggling careers, children and other obligations. This site contains some key resources to help you better navigate caregiving.

Christ Hospital Health & Aging Center

513-272-8444

​The Christ Hospital Health & Aging Center is an outpatient geriatric center servicing mature adults of various ages. Our center offers an interdisciplinary approach to comprehensive dementia care. Family members are encourages to attend along with patients. 

Our physicians and specialists provide comprehensive, coordinated care for older adults who have chronic medical conditions, while offering support in dealing with the emotional, social and economic strain illness may bring. We're conveniently located Oakley and provide primary care services for older adults, and for many patients serve in a consultative role to you and your primary care doctor.

Finance Strategists

There are many different types of living arrangements for the elderly, but it is important to understand some major differences between assisted living and independent living. These options can be overwhelming so here is a rundown of what you need to know about these two types of facilities

Home Safety for Seniors by This Old House

Keep your loved ones safe by reading these home safety tips for seniors. We detail ways to make a home hazard-free and secure from outside threats.

National Council on Aging

​We’re a respected national leader and trusted partner to help people aged 60+ meet the challenges of aging. We partner with nonprofit organizations, government, and business to provide innovative community programs and services, online help, and advocacy.

  • Our Vision: A just and caring society in which each of us, as we age, lives with dignity, purpose, and security

  • Our Mission: Improve the lives of millions of older adults, especially those who are struggling

  • Our Social Impact Goal: Improve the health and economic security of 10 million older adults by 2020

Nursing Homes

At NursingHomesAbuse.org, our mission is to help the countless nursing home residents who have suffered abuse and neglect by those entrusted with their care. Abuse of senior citizens in nursing homes and assisted living facilities is widespread and often goes unreported.

We provide education and resources for seniors and their loved ones as part of a larger effort to stop the cycle of neglect and abuse that has reached epidemic levels in nursing homes and other care facilities across the country.

Relish

When it comes to the brain, music is incredibly powerful. Hearing – and the auditory part of the brain – is one of the first senses to fully develop, meaning that we can remember sounds and songs from our childhood long before we even learned how to communicate.

The power of music is not lost on the dementia care world, and more and more care professionals and nursing homes are now turning to music therapy to help people living with dementia.

The impact that music has on our day-to-day life is huge; an upbeat song on a day when we are feeling low can almost instantly lift our mood, or a piece of music from our wedding day can send us hurtling back to that exact moment and all the joyous memories it entails. And it is for this reason that music is an integral tool for supporting a person with dementia to feel secure, happy and relaxed, as well as helping to exercise the brain.

Stanford Center on Longevity

The mission of the Stanford Center on Longevity is to accelerate and implement scientific discoveries, technological advances, behavioral practices, and social norms so that century long lives are healthy and rewarding.

To further this mission, SCL  launched The New Map of Life initiative. In this initiative, researchers define new models for education and lifelong learning, redesign how we work, advise new policies for health care, housing, the environment and financial security, and promote more intergenerational partnerships. It will also advance a new narrative, which redefines what it means to be “old” and values people at different stages of life. Media outlets, advertisers and the entertainment industry will play an important role in this effort by sharing stories and creating new imagery and content about longevity and aging.

In the United States, as many as half of today’s 5-year-olds can expect to live to the age of 100, and this once unattainable milestone may become the norm for newborns by 2050. Yet, the social institutions, norms and policies that await these future centenarians evolved when lives were only half as long and need updating. The Stanford Center on Longevity launched The New Map of Life, believing that one of the most profound transformations of the human experience calls for equally momentous and creative changes in the ways we lead these 100-year lives, at every stage. We can meet challenges that longevity creates if we act now.

parentgiving.com

Parentgiving.com was formed in 2008 when its founders struggled to find help and answers since becoming caregivers for their own parents. Noticing a lack of a cohesive and comprehensive resources for caregivers, the Parentgiving.com founders set out to help others while helping themselves by bringing together the best information, support and products in one place on the Internet.

Thanks for the Memories, Brain!

The difference between forgetfulness versus a sign of memory decline. Plus, how to improve your memory.

Recommended Books

Books
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AARP Meditations for Caregivers

Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD & Julia L. Mayer, PsyD

Family caregiving has its challenges: emotional overload, time constraints, anxiety, burnout, missed work, adult sibling conflicts, and marital issues. AARP Meditations for Caregivers blends emotional and spiritual motivation to minimize the strains while helping caregivers view their work as a mission from the heart. Chapters are organized by theme, including topics such as accepting your feelings, knowing your limits, seeking support, and managing stress. Each reading offers a poignant meditation, an anecdote drawn from the author's personal or clinical experience, and hands-on or psychological advice to foster coping skills and a sense of fulfillment.

 

The meditations in this dispensable book will provide you with solutions to typical caregiving challenges, offer relief and renewal through mindfulness, and inspire you to find meaning and value in the work you do.

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The Conscious Caregiver

Linda Abbit

Linda Abbit, founder of Tender Loving Eldercare and a veteran of the caregiving industry, shares her advice on taking care of an older parent or loved one and how to handle everything that goes along with this dramatic life change.

 

Being a caregiver can be a difficult role. It requires patience, tenderness, selflessness, and hard work. Providing care for someone, whether it’s a parent, a loved one, or as a professional requires a high level of self-love and self-care. But while it may be a rewarding experience to care for a loved one, the emotional and physical stress of caregiving can lead to burnout and exhaustion—causing caregivers to put themselves and their own well-being in the background.

 

How can you fulfill your role as a caregiver without losing yourself? Conscious Caregiver teaches you how to navigate caring for your loved one, whether it’s full-time in-house caregiving or hiring support from outside services. With information on how to talk to your loved ones about the situation, handle the emotional stress, stay financially secure, and take the time to care for yourself, this guide can help you care for your loved one and yourself at the same time.

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Learning to Speak Alzheimer's

Joanne Koenig Coste

​More than four million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, and as many as twenty million have close relatives or friends with the disease. Revolutionizing the way we perceive and live with Alzheimer’s, Joanne Koenig Coste offers a practical approach to the emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers that emphasizes relating to patients in their own reality. Her accessible and comprehensive method, which she calls habilitation, works to enhance communication between care partners and patients and has proven successful with thousands of people living with dementia. Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s also offers hundreds of practical tips, including how to

· cope with the diagnosis and adjust to the disease’s progression

· help the patient talk about the illness

· face the issue of driving

· make meals and bath times as pleasant as possible

· adjust room design for the patient’s comfort

· deal with wandering, paranoia, and aggression.

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I'll Have Some of Yours

Annette Januzzi Wick

Annette Januzzi Wick longs to find the perfect care home for her proud, Italian mother, who is slipping further into dementia. In her memoir, Annette shares gripping truths about the mistakes she makes before ultimately finding a place where her mother develops a crush, heckles an Elvis impersonator, and magically bonds with her daughter through Frank Sinatra’s songs. Whether she is breaking up a fight between her mother and the Easter Bunny, advocating for her mother to avoid a tracheotomy, or struggling to duplicate her mother’s cookie recipes, Annette tries to balance the trials with the triumphs of being a daughter—and caregiver. But can she and her mother love without memory—or regret? I’ll Have Some of Yours is for anyone who longs to move past being a caregiver to find a deeply human and humane connection with someone you love.

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Creating Moments of Joy

Jolene Brackey

The beloved best seller has been revised and expanded for the fifth edition. Jolene Brackey has a vision: that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease to focus more of our energies on creating moments of joy. When people have short-term memory loss, their lives are made up of moments. We are not able to create perfectly wonderful days for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, but we can create perfectly wonderful moments, moments that put a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. Five minutes later, they will not remember what we did or said, but the feeling that we left them with will linger. The new edition of Creating Moments of Joy is filled with more practical advice sprinkled with hope, encouragement, new stories, and generous helpings of humor. In this volume, Brackey reveals that our greatest teacher is having cared for and loved someone with Alzheimer's and that often what we have most to learn about is ourselves.

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The 36-Hour Day

Nancy Mace, M.A & Peter Rabins, M.D., M.P.H.

​Through five editions, The 36-Hour Day has been an essential resource for families who love and care for people with Alzheimer disease. Whether a person has Alzheimer disease or another form of dementia, he or she will face a host of problems. The 36-Hour Day will help family members and caregivers address these challenges and simultaneously cope with their own emotions and needs.

Featuring useful takeaway messages and informed by recent research into the causes of and the search for therapies to prevent or cure dementia, this edition includes new information on:

• devices to make life simpler and safer for people who have dementia

• strategies for delaying behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms

• changes in Medicare and other health care insurance laws

• palliative care, hospice care, durable power of attorney, and guardianship

• dementia due to traumatic brain injury

• choosing a residential care facility

• support groups for caregivers, friends, and family members

The central idea underlying the book―that much can be done to improve the lives of people with dementia and of those caring for them―remains the same. The 36-Hour Day is the definitive dementia care guide.

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Mom's OK, She Just Forgets

Evelyn McLay & Ellen Young

​Denial may seem to be an acceptable coping mechanism when faced with a disease that has no cure. But in fact the failure to accept reality can work against the welfare of the person suffering from a disease that causes dementia, making a bad situation worse for the whole family.


In this reassuring and very helpful handbook for families, experienced caregivers Evelyn D. McLay and Ellen P. Young suggest various behaviors, tools, and techniques for moving beyond denial. Real people who have faced the many problems brought about by Alzheimer’s speak out, with hope, from these pages. They share their journeys from denial to loving action and an improved attitude that helps them deal with their personal plights. Separate chapters address the issues of caregiver burnout, developing communication skills, challenging behaviors that "push your buttons," when to remove driving privileges, day care for the elderly, deciding on long-term care, and the need for acceptance.


Without minimizing the daunting challenges of Alzheimer’s and dementia, the authors stress the importance of remaining positive and appreciating the moment while acting in the best interests of loved ones.

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Alzheimer's for Dummies

Patricia B. Smith, Mary Mitchell Kenan, PsyD, & Mark Edwin Kunik, M.D., M.P.H

​An estimated 4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in America today, with approximately 370,000 new cases diagnosed every year. AD patients live anywhere from 5 to 20 years after their diagnosis; and their inability to care for themselves grows more dramatic as the disease progresses, creating profound implications for their families and healthcare providers. Its impact on families during the caregiving years is overwhelming.

If you have a family member or close friend who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and you’re looking for current, useful information, then Alzheimer’s For Dummies is for you. This reference guide also is helpful if you:

  • Need to know more about its diagnosis and treatment

  • Want to take care of yourself while taking care of your loved one

  • Are not the primary caregiver but want to know how to help

  • Want to know how Alzheimer’s Disease is going to affect you and your loved one

 

Alzheimer’s For Dummies takes a realistic look at Alzheimer’s Disease, what it is and what it isn’t.

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