By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Fifty percent of all elderly caregiving in the United States is for someone living with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, according to the American Alzheimer's Association.
A Different Mindset Association is a Hays-based nonprofit group offering community support for people with dementia and their families.
The group offers community educational workshops, caregiver support groups in-person and online, and non-medical respite activities.
Up to 30 percent of caregivers are 65 or older and often care for an aging parent and at least one child. The caregivers' mental and physical health is also important, said Micki Armstrong, president of A Different Mindset.
"We want to make sure that those people are healthy, too," Armstrong said. "Statistics show that those people can get frustrated and have their own medical issues if they don't have some kind of relief."
The group has just started two programs in cooperation with the Hays Senior Center to socially engage persons with dementia and provide some respite from the demands on their caregivers.
On the first Tuesday of each month, participants who are in the early to moderate stages of dementia will enjoy lunch and then a field trip to various spots, such as the Triple 8 Equine Center, Sternberg Museum of Natural History and St. Vincent Church to see the creche and Bethlehem scene. There will be indoor and outdoor experiences and opportunities for community service.
"Every person with dementia must first be assessed. We do those assessments in their home with the caregiver there," Armstrong said.
"We have some simple criteria. They must be ambulatory to go up and down the bus steps, have some level of communication, and be able to toilet themselves."
The social engagement day program will be on the third Tuesday of each month at the Hays Senior Center.
Participants will enjoy lunch, art, drama, music, intergenerational activities, animal interactions, and community service. They will also engage in cognitive and physical exercises.
Because the four-and-a-half-hour social engagement programs are non-medical, no medications will be distributed during those times.
A Different Mindset is based on a similar program in Leavenworth, The Deeper Window Association.
"When we saw it, we knew this is what we want to do," Armstrong said.
"These types of programs are needed all across our country as the dementia rates continue to rise," said one member of Different Mindset.
A core group of seven to eight local volunteers has organized Different Mindset and more volunteers are welcome.
Monique Koerner, family and community wellness agent for K-State Research and Extension Cottonwood District in Hays, is one of the volunteers.
"One of the main focuses of Different Mindset is to not only support the caregiver but we're also supporting the dementia patient through those activities, engaging their mind and their body in experiences that will help those connections in their brain," Koerner said.
She will present a public workshop about brain health and dementia from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 9 in the extension office, 601 Main.
Koerner will talk about combating neurodegenerative diseases and good brain health.
The next evening, Oct. 10, Jill Wechsler, care coordinator at Clinkscales Elder Law Practice and a member of Different Mindset, will discuss the best approaches for behaviors related to dementia with a panel of experienced caregivers.
The session will also be from 6 to 8 p.m. in the extension office. A Zoom link will be provided for an online option. Call Koerner at 785-628-9430 to RSVP for either or both sessions.
"The hardest thing about this disease [Alzheimer's] is you lose your loved one twice. They fade away before they physically die," said a caregiver.
Although there's currently no cure for Alzheimer's, there is abundant research underway and some early success in slowing the progress of the disease and other dementias.
Some new research considers Alzheimer's "Type 3 diabetes."
"It has to do with inflammation of the brain and the build-up of toxins," Koerner said. "We already know too much sugar is not necessarily good for our bodies. They're researching its effect on the brain."
Information about A Different Mindset is available on the website www.adiffmindsetassoc.org, on Facebook, or by calling 785-269-1928.