Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s Association South Carolina Chapter

DHEC Recognizes Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week

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DHEC recognizes Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week by highlighting the importance of the training and education of the exceptional staff that care for patients all across South Carolina, including in nursing homes, community residential care facilities, and providers, such as in-home care providers and home health agencies. DHEC’s Healthcare Quality regulates 207 facilities that offer memory care services.   

Providers and staff at Alzheimer’s care facilities are always learning as much as possible on how to both better prevent and improve treatments for dementias, but they have  also been faced with the new challenge of educating themselves on COVID-19 infection control and prevention. These individuals have had to quickly adapt to evolving requirements and recommendations regarding physical contact, visitors, and daily routines for patients.  

Changes to routines, use of unfamiliar personal protective equipment (PPE), and disruption to daily schedules are enough to confuse anyone, but Alzheimer’s and dementia patients are at an increased risk of depression and worsening behavioral changes, such as agitation, aggression, and wandering.  

DHEC is proud of the amazing providers and staff at these facilities who have helped make these new transitions easier for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, while still prioritizing their treatments and care. We have witnessed families and caregivers working with providers and Alzheimer’s care facility staff to develop new ways to improve the mental health of their loved ones suffering from dementias as well as their physical health.  

While adhering to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 Guidance for Caregivers of People Living with Dementia in Community Settings and Considerations for Memory Care Units in Long-Term Care Facilities, these staff members also benefit from the general public learning more about prevention and warning signs of dementias. Healthcare Quality team members have helped answer questions memory care staff may have concerning such guidance.  

DHEC celebrates these individuals and strongly encourages the community to continue to learn more about Alzheimer’s and dementia in order to help improve lives. 

Know the Signs  

Besides celebrating the individuals that care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, DHEC’s Healthcare Quality wants you to know the onset signs of such healthcare concerns. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, some signs and symptoms that could indicate the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s may include: 

  • Memory loss that disrupts daily life 
  • Challenges in planning or solving problems 
  • Difficulty completing familiar tasks 
  • Confusion with time or place 
  • Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships 
  • New problems with words in speaking or writing 
  • Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps 
  • Decreased or poor judgment 
  • Withdrawal from work or social activities 
  • Changes in mood and personality 

Upon receiving a diagnosis, caregivers and their loved ones are faced with a long list of questions. How long until the disease progresses? Can I afford long-term care for my loved one? How can I anticipate their needs?  

Now facing the reality of living with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future, new concerns and fears start to emerge as well. It is due to the industrious efforts and ongoing education of providers and staff at Alzheimer’s care facilities and in the community that these patients can be cared for with the utmost respect, knowledge, and safety.

Take the Healthy Body, Healthy Brain Pledge

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As important as it is to take good care of your body, it’s equally critical that you keep your brain healthy.

That is why DHEC is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association South Carolina Chapter, The American Heart Association and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and brain health.

As part of the awareness campaign, the partners are encouraging people to Take Brain Health to Heart and pledge to keep their body, heart and brain healthy. The Healthy Body, Healthy Brain pledge can be found at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealthpledge.

The intent is quite simple: to motivate South Carolinians to protect their brain health by taking proactive steps such as being more active and eating better. Research has shown that smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes may contribute to cognitive decline. It has also found that unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity and brain injury may affect the health of the brain.

The campaign features a centralized DHEC Brain Health webpage. People who visit the page and take the pledge are entered into a monthly drawing for a Fitbit; the drawings end June 30. Please visit the webpage at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealth and take the pledge.

Pledge to keep your body, heart and brain healthy

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DHEC is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association South Carolina Chapter, The American Heart Association and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and brain health.

Protect your body, heart and brain

DHEC and its partners will collaborate on a campaign that encourages people to Take Brain Health to Heart. A key element of the effort is a pledge — which can be found at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealthpledge — that encourages residents to keep their body, heart and brain healthy.

The campaign is designed to educate and mobilize South Carolinians to protect their brain health by being more active, eating better and taking other steps. Research has shown that smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes may contribute to cognitive decline. It has also found that unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity and brain injury may affect the health of the brain.

Message key for S.C.’s aging population

This is an important message in South Carolina, whose population is getting older. While Alzheimer’s and dementia are not a normal part of aging, getting older is the greatest risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, 84,000 people over the age of 65 are reported to be living with Alzheimer’s disease in South Carolina.  By 2025, that number is expected to grow to 120,000, according to the SC Alzheimer’s disease registry report. South Carolina has one of the fastest-aging adult populations in the country, ranking in the top 10. That population is expected to increase to 1.1 million by 2029, resulting in one in five South Carolinians being over age 65.

South Carolina is one of seven states to receive funding to reduce stigma, promote early diagnosis and address risk reduction factors associated with cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The effort is funded by a collaborative that includes the Alzheimer’s Association, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Take the pledge

Over the next few months, DHEC, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Heart Association and Eat Smart Move More will jointly focus on messaging regarding heart and brain health and cognitive decline.

The campaign will feature a centralized DHEC Brain Health webpage. Each partner organization will have a link to the page, which will include health education materials, social media messages and a call to action in the form of a pledge about healthy lifestyle changes. People who visit the page and take the pledge will be entered into a monthly drawing for a Fitbit, beginning this month and ending June 30. Please visit the webpage at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealth and take the pledge.