With the rise in Alzheimer’s disease in Orange County over the last decade, there is a good chance your family has been touched by dementia or mild cognitive decline.
Alzheimer’s Orange County recently estimated that the number of people facing dementia has nearly doubled since 2014 locally, from 84,000 to 164,000 people.
“The new data says 5% of the Orange County population is living with dementia. By definition dementia describes a person unable to live independently. So those 5% will need assistance from someone else: adult children, grandchildren, spouses and friends to live safely,” said Aaron Ritter, MD., director of the Memory & Cognitive Disorders Program in Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute. “We are rapidly approaching a time when most people in Orange County will need to assist a family member or friend with dementia.”
So, how do families move forward?
- Educate yourself about Alzheimer’s disease – including your own risk. Hoag’s OC Vital Brain Program offers seminars and cognitive assessments, among other resources.
- Stay involved. Reaching out with a card, a call or a visit keeps the person with cognitive decline connected. “It is important both for the patient and the family to maintain connection and contact,” Dr. Ritter said. “Social connections have been shown to slow the progress of cognitive decline.”
- Be patient. Each person contending with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis reacts differently. Staying patient, attentive and compassionate will be important for both you and your loved one.
- Be there for each other. “The disease can cause stress for the whole family. Working together, you can get things done for the patient and for each other – meals, trips to the store, driving the patient to needed appointments,” Dr. Ritter said. “If possible, offer each other respite and reprieve.”
If you suspect that you or a loved one is experiencing memory loss, significant personality changes or dementia, visit Hoag, www.hoag.org.
