Life's Journeys

New manual helps families of patients with dementia

A message from Dottie Deremo,
President/CEO, Hospice of Michigan

D

id you know Alzheimer's
disease is one of the leading
causes of death among people over
age 65? And yet, surprisingly, many
people, including physicians, do not
consider Alzheimer's or other forms
of dementia terminal illnesses.
Furthermore, despite the fact that
people in advanced stages of demen-
tia could benefit from hospice care,
only 2 percent of hospice patients
nationally have a primary diagnosis
of dementia.
We believe this will change as
more families become aware of our
new publication, "Caring for A Loved
One with Advanced Dementia:A Care
Giver's Manual."'This helpful guide
became available last month, the first
product of our new Maggie Allesee
Center for Quality of Life. We are
proud to be partnering with the
Alzheimer's Association-Michigan
chapters in its distribution.
How fortunate we were to receive
a generous donation from Fraser E.
Pomeroy, which made it possible to
commission the caregivers' guide.
Mr. Pomeroy lost his wife to
Alzheimer's disease in 1997 after
spending her final weeks at
Farmington Hills Hospice Home. We
also benefited from a grant from the
Michigan Department of Community
Health, making it possible to print
8,000 copies of the manual.

c.,. despite the fret that
people in advanced
stages of dementia could
benefit from hospice
care, only 2 percent of
hospice patients
nationally have a
primary diagnosis of
dementia."

,

our participation in a collaborative
research project with the University
of Chicago called Palliative
Excellence in Alzheimer's Care
Efforts, or the PEACE project, which
has been studying the benefits of
providing hospice care to these
patients.
Reading "A Care Giver's Manual"
will educate caregivers about the
nature of this disease: its stages and
signs, its treatment and the require-
ments for care. It emphasizes how

Based on HOM experience

The guide is based on what we
have learned from providing end-of-
life care over the past six years to
more than 1,500 patients with
dementia. It has been enhanced by

important it is for caregivers to seek
support and relief Our Hospice
program offers emotional counseling,
time off for respite care and trained
volunteers to help with household
chores.
The manual also addresses the
questions so often asked during this
stressful time. How will we be cer-
tain pain will be mitigated? How do
we know when the end is near?
As the huge Baby Boomer popula-
tion ages, the number of elderly
citizens who are at risk for dementia
will expand tremendously. We
believe it is important to provide
palliative care to those stricken with
this terminal disease, and it is equally
important to offer comfort care to
caregivers when the disease has
progressed to its final stages. We also
recognize the importance of bereave-
ment counseling and make this
available up to 13 months following
death.
To obtain copies of this outstand-
ing caregivers' manual, please call the
Alzheimer's Association's toll-free
number, 1-800-337-3827. To learn
more about Hospice care, please call
Bobbie Blitz, our Jewish liaison spe-
cialist, at 248-253-2580, ext. 4543.

Crystal Rose Ball approaches

Hospice of Michigan will hold its
17th annual Crystal Rose Ball at
7 p.m.,April 13, at the new Detroit
Science Center. Arthur Horwitz, pub-
lisher of The Detroit Jewish News,
and Lori and Maurice Pogoda, dedi-
cated Hospice volunteers, are among
the honorees. For ticket information,
Call Sue MacDonnell at 313-578-5040.

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