Education and Awareness of Dementia within the workplace.

1. Education and
Awareness in the
Workplace
A Key to a Dementia-
Friendly Community

2. Presented by:
Kim Jacquart Franzen
Dementia Care Specialist
ADRC of the Lakeshore
4319 Expo Drive – P.O. Box 935
Manitowoc, WI 54220

3. Objectives:
•Basic Statistics of Dementia
•Types of Dementia
•Early Warning Signs
•Strategies to Improve Your Brain Health
•Importance of Taking Care of Yourself
•Acknowledging Dementia and Caregiving in
the Workplace
•How to Communicate with Someone with
Dementia
•Creating a Dementia Friendly Community

4. Basic Statistics

5. What is Dementia?
•Dementia is an umbrella term describing
symptoms that affect thinking and function
severely enough to interfere with daily life.
•Affects more than one of the following
areas of the brain: recent memory,
language, visiospatial functioning (symbols)
and executive functioning (planning).
•A general term of a group of more than 70
brain disorders with Alzheimer’s being the
most common type.

6. Common Types of Dementia
•Alzheimer’s Disease (60 – 75%)
•Dementia with Lewy Bodies (20%)
•Vascular Dementia – caused by “mini strokes”
•Mixed Dementia – AD + Vascular or Lewy Body
•Frontotemporal Dementias (e.g. Pick’s disease)
starts young and progresses quickly
•Degenerative Diseases (Lou Gehrigs, Huntington’s,
Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple brain traumas, Parkinson's)
•Wernicke’s Syndrome – chronic alcohol damage
•Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (like mad cow)

7. Reversible Causes of
Dementia
Drugs
Emotional changes (depression)
Metabolic conditions
Eyes & Ears
Nutrition
Tumors
Infection
Alcohol

8. Effects of Dementia
Changes in:
 Memory
 Language
 Perception
 Recognition
 Purposeful Movement
 Complex Thought
 Short-term Memory
 Recalling events/people
 Learning new things
More likely to:
Repeat questions
Become easily distracted
Lose things
Over or under react
Fixate on topics/objects
Have dulled emotions
Dwell in the past
Issues with daily activities

9. Dementia Umbrella
Gradual,
Progressive
Decline
Senses
That impacts everyday
Life
Reversible Irreversible
-Depression -Alzheimer’s Disease
-Infections -Vascular Dementia or
-Medication/Drug Interaction Multi-Infarct
-Hydrocephalus -Frontotemporal Dementia
-Vitamin/Mineral Deficiencies -Parkinson’s Disease
-Hypo/Hyperglycemia -Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
-Lewy Body Disease
-Huntington’s Disease
Memory
Problem
Solving
Mood
Personality
Behavior
Communication
Language
Judgment

10. 10 Warning Signs of Dementia
Signals of Impaired Thinking Processes
1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems.
3. Difficulty in completing familiar tasks.
4. Confusion with time and place.
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial
relationships.
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing.
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
8. Decreased or poor judgment.
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.
10. Changes in mood and personality

11. Risk Factors
•Family History and Genetics
•Increasing age - after 65 likelihood doubles
every 5 years
Over age 85 you have a 50% chance
of having dementia
•Severe Head Injury
•Unhealthy Lifestyle
–Heart Disease, Diabetes, Stroke, High
Blood Pressure or High Cholesterol
•Failure to stay physically/cognitively active

12. Benefits of a Timely Diagnosis
•Have a helpful framework for understanding symptoms
•An opportunity to build the right medical team
•Access to existing medications that can provide some relief
•Participate in Alzheimer’s clinical studies to take greater control of
your healthcare and benefit future generations
•Person diagnosed can participate in decision about treatment
and care
•Plan for future care options, including identifying social and community
resources to support independence as long as possible
•Access community resources through the Alzheimer’s Association
or other organizations to find information and support
•Enhanced safety and security

13. Strategies to Improve Brain Health
•Stay Physically Active
•Adopt a Brain-Healthy Diet
•Remain Socially Active
•Embrace Spirituality
•Manage Stress
•Stay Mentally Active

14. Stay Physically Active
•Does NOT have to be strenuous or time consuming
 –Do it regularly and for about 30 min
•Aerobic exercise improves oxygen consumption
 –Improves brain function and reduces brain
cell loss
•Walking, bicycling, gardening, tai chi, yoga, Walk to
End Alzheimer’s
• Try Chair Exercises

15. Adopt a Brain-Healthy Diet

16. Remain Socially Active
•Social activity makes physical and mental
mental activity more enjoyable
–Reduces stress
–Helps maintain healthy connections
among brain cells
• Travel
• Stay active in the workplace
• Volunteer in community groups and causes
• Join book and card clubs, salsa, zumba, (or
ballroom) dancing or other social groups

17. Embrace Your Spirituality
•Spirituality is personal, and everyone’s
spiritual path may be unique
•Those who use their spirituality to cope with
life, experience many benefits to their
health and well-being
• Spirituality and religious activity have
been a source of comfort and relief from
STRESS for multitudes of people

18. Manage Stress
 Stress Contributes To:
 •More Inflammatory Diseases
 •Diminished Lifestyle
 •Poor Quality (or lack of) Sleep
 •Increased Dementia
 •Higher Rate of Accidents
 •Poor Eating Habits
 •Increased Cancer
 •Increased Heart Attack, Stroke and
Diabetes

19. Stay Mentally Active
•Stay curious and involved – commit to
lifelong learning
•Read, write, work crossword or other
puzzles
•Attend lectures and plays
•Play games- Jigsaw, Sudoku, Dominos,
Poker, Scrabble, Rook, etc
•Garden
•Try memory exercises

20. Importance of Taking Care of
Yourself
Care for Yourself- Your Oxygen Mask First
 -Listen to Your body
 -See your doctor
 -Exercise
 -Eat Right
 -Stay Connected
 -Maintain Hobbies

21. Taking Care of You
 -Let Go of Perfection
 -Cleansing Breaths
 -Ask for help
 -Accept help
 -Take a Break- respite
 -Get support

22. Taking Care of You (2)
•There are risk factors you CANNOT change
•There are strategies that are within your
control!
•Adopting healthy habits will benefit your Body
& Brain… and may delay or prevent the
onset of Dementia
•Your future is in your hands
•Idea: Pick one “do-able” change per month
and just focus on making that change
your new “Habit”!

23. Questions/Concerns

38. Questions/Concerns

39. Communicating With
Someone Who Has Dementia
From the viewpoint of the person with dementia
“Even if our perception of time and space
has changed, we live in a world where
relationships, objects, and situations
matter
We may not be able to speak about the
meaning environments have, but a sense
of meaning and importance remains in
our lives”

40. Dementia impairs our
memories
 We can forget where we put things
 We can forget what we have been doing
recently
 We can forget people’s names, even people
close to us (*so please don’t take it
personally)
 We can forget we have done something and
so repeat doing or saying things
 Our strongest memories may be for events
from the past (*a key to conversation)

41. Dementia impairs our
reasoning and ability to learn
 We can find abstract notions like money,
rules, and values confusing
 We can find the results of actions hard to
predict
 We can misunderstand the pattern on the
floor
 We can find new places disorienting
 We can have difficulty getting used to
unfamiliar objects or routines
 We forget where basic things like the
restrooms are

42. Dementia causes changes in
our sensory-motor function
 We may not be able to smell, feel, and see
things (especially bland colors that blend)
 We may get agitated if we get too hot
 We need good lighting to give us as much
information as possible about our surroundings
and can become confused if there is not
enough
 We may have difficulty navigating changes
of level on the floor

43. Dementia raises our levels of
stress
We can find large groups difficult
We can become anxious in situations we
coped well in before
 Too much noise makes us confused
We are very sensitive to things like alarms
We benefit from calmness

44. Our core needs
To be useful
To have our self-esteem
boosted
To still be able to
care for ourselves
To give and
receive love
and others

45. How do I physically approach
someone who has dementia?
 Approach from the front within the line of
vision
 Calm, positive, friendly, smile
 Good eye contact

46. How do I interact successfully
with someone who has
dementia?
 Never argue
 The person with dementia is
always right
 Is there a need?
 Ask a simple question, keep it
short and speak slowly, repeat
and allow time for a response
 Help the person to feel in
control
 Show you care
 Don’t take things personally
 Acknowledge feelings
 Put yourself in their position
 Watch your mood and body
language (persons with
dementia tend to mirror the
emotions of those around
them) Calm begets calm. Try
to remain happy and positive.
 Logic and reason do not apply
 Pay attention to body
language and non-verbal
messages
 Listen to verbal messages, can
you build on them?
 Accept people where they are

47. Responses that might be
helpful
 I will be here if you
need anything
 Don’t worry. I’ll take
care of it.
 Your are pretty
important around
here.
 If you need anything,
just let me know.
 That’s a good idea.
I’ll have to try that!
 I do silly things like that,
too.
 Between the two of us,
we will be OK.
 You are a pretty
special person.
 Wow, you are so smart!
 Thank you, I couldn’t
have done it without
you.
 You always look out for
me.

48. What do you know about their
Life Story?
Who are they?
What do you know about them?
What did they used to do? What
did they enjoy? What’s important
to them?
Learn by listening and
observing, talk with the
caregiver
Build on the comments they make (if
something works, remember it- a
favorite story they keep repeating)

49. All behavior is communication
 An unmet need? Bathroom, hungry,
uncomfortable, too hot/cold, illness,
restless/bored?
 Pacing of Activities/flow of the day
 Personal routine preference

50. If all behavior is meaningful,
what is this person trying to
communicate?
 Try to stop thinking, “She’s confused, she
has dementia.
 Starting thinking, “I am confused, I don’t
know what she’s trying to tell me”
 Instead of, “how can I control this
person?”
 Think, “How can I accommodate this
person?”

51. Questions/Concerns

52. What is a Dementia Friendly
environment?
 Accessible environments that enable
people to reach, enter, use and move
around the places and spaces they need
or wish to visit, regardless of any physical,
sensory, or cognitive impairment.
 Safe environments so people can
independently use, enjoy, and move
around places and spaces freely without
fear of harm

53. Designing Dementia Friendly
Environments
 Purposeful destinations: bright colors, opportunities to use
their remaining abilities, favorite things*, these spaces allow
them to engage in interests spontaneously; to move
around this space with a sense of meaning and
importance allowing for engagement
 Welcoming atmosphere: quiet, calm, relaxing, positive,
friendly
 Wayfinding cues to help them understand where they are,
what is expected of them in this space, and which way
they need to go
 Make up for reduced sensory, cognitive, and motor ability
to support independence
 Lighting should be 3-5 times brighter
 Flooring, pathways should be clear, clutter free, color
contrasts should mark changes in floor level and level
changes clearly marked, hand-rails contrast with wall
colors, non-glare surfaces

54. A dementia friendly
community enables those with
dementia to
Find their way around and
be safe
Access the local facilities
that they are used to and
where they are known
(such as banks, shops,
cafes, cinemas, and post
offices)
Maintain their social
networks so they feel they
continue to belong

55. Dementia Friendly
Communities
A community that
shows a high level of
public awareness
and understanding
of dementia
In which it is possible
for the greatest
number of people
with dementia to
live a good life
Where persons with
dementia are
enabled to live as
independently as
possible and to
continue to be part
of their community
Where they are met
with understanding
and given support
where necessary

56. Goal
Goal =To make quality of life
measurably better in the
Manitowoc County Community
by easing the fear and isolation
associated with dementia, and
by increasing access to the
resources people need to live
well with dementia.

57. Resources
Kim Jacquart Franzen
Dementia Care Specialist,
ADRC
920-683-4180
Alzheimer’s Association
24/7 helpline
1-800-272-3900
ADRC
M-F 8:30-4:30
1-877-416-7083
See brochures and
handouts

58. Questions/Concerns
 Thank you for being here today
 Thank you for wanting to learn
 Thank you for caring enough to become
aware and educated