Dementia Friendly Decatur, health department offer assistance to families

Apr. 26—DECATUR — Dementia can be isolating, both for the person who has it and for their caregivers, who are often family members.

When the person with dementia starts having trouble functioning or remembering things, when he or she can't find the words to express thoughts, makes mistakes, gets lost going to places they've been going to for years, they usually stop trying.

"For example, you have someone who plays bridge and they're really good at it," said Linda Little of Dementia Friendly Decatur. "If they start to develop dementia, they might make a really stupid play, and then they know it, and then they feel bad and then they just stop playing bridge, and then it's a slow path toward isolation, and a lot of times it's self-imposed isolation, but we want to keep them out and keep them active and reduce the stigma."

The most important thing for them and their family is to know they're not alone. Help is available.

With that as a goal, Dementia Friendly Decatur offers training sessions that are not medical in nature, but social, teaching people at the Macon County Office Building, for one example, how to talk to someone who still drives and comes in to pay their taxes.

They work with other businesses and organizations to show them how to communicate with someone with dementia, and are willing to set up training sessions for any group or organization that wants to learn.

"We want those members of the community to still feel welcome and important in our community," Little said.

The Dementia Friendly movement began in the United Kingdom in 2013, came to the United States in 2015, and to Illinois in 2017. Decatur was designated a "dementia-friendly" community in 2022, which doesn't mean the entire community is already trained, but that Decatur is a place where training and efforts are underway to smooth the path and reduce isolation for those with dementia.

Last year, Dementia Friendly Decatur began monthly Scovill Zoo Days, when people with dementia and their caregivers could visit the zoo for free, where the Education Center was set up with table games and snacks, and PawPrint Ministries brought in comfort dogs, while the zoo staff brought in animals to show the guests, who could also walk around the zoo and visit exhibits if they chose. Those will continue this year.

The group recently hosted a dementia-friendly showing of "Grease" at the Lincoln Theater.

Rene Sedivy's wife Nancy has Alzheimer's and he is her caretaker, after the couple raised two granddaughters who are now grown and on their own.

He is grateful for the help offered by the Macon County Health Department'sStarting Point program.

"That organization is wonderful," he said. "They really helped me and help a lot of people with the same problems that I have."

The Sedivys attend the twice-monthly Memory Cafe at Eagle Ridge on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, have been to Scovill Zoo Days, and Rene Sedivy was recognized in September by East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging as an outstanding caregiver.

He's a veteran, and his first stop to ask for help was the Veterans Administration, which sent him to Starting Point. He also receives counseling from the VA.

"It's difficult to take care of somebody with Alzheimer's and dementia," he said. "Nobody knows how hard it is until you have to deal with a relative with it."

Donna Bruner learned about Starting Point when her father was ill several years ago and developed dementia, so when her mother, now 102, began to require in-home help, she knew where to find it.

"It's a real eye opener," Bruner said of discovering how much assistance is available. "A lot of people don't know about it. I was so excited when I found out about it, that they could sit with Mom while I could get away and do things I needed to do."

The Stress Buster meetings for caregivers is particularly helpful, she said. She meets people facing the same situations she does.

"Someone will bring something up and you think, 'I wanted to ask that and didn't think anyone else would have that problem,'" she said. "I gain a lot of knowledge from their classes. Becky and Angie are very knowledgeable."

"Our goal is to be a place where a senior can stop in with any need, and we can either meet it directly, or meet it through referrals in the community," said Becky Stewart, caregiver adviser/senior information specialist/Senior Health Insurance Program/respite coordinator for the Macon County Health Department.

Services to support caregivers include support groups, both virtual and in person; the Memory Cafe, an activity group the caregiver can attend with the loved one that offers stimulating activities such as trivia, chair exercises, games and music; Stress Busting for caregiver, offers skills to cope with some of the stress, behaviors and side effects that you can get with Alzheimer's and dementia; respite care; assistive devices and technology like door chimes if the person with dementia might wander; and guidance if the person needs residential placement.

Call 217-423-6550 to access the services.

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Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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