Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer’s Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and various programs and resources of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Alzheimer’s has a tremendous effect across the United States. Alexis says, “There’s about 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, and it’s expected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. The lifetime for risk for Alzheimer’s at age 45 is 1 in 5 for women, and 1 in 10 for men. And of course, the thing about Alzheimer’s is, it’s not just the person with the Alzheimer’s that’s been affected, it is the family, it is the friends, it’s the community. And we’re looking at over 11 million people who are providing unpaid care to those people with Alzheimer’s.
“The stress that’s being put on you as a caregiver is a huge thing. One of the biggest reasons why we’re here, and why we exist, is to support the caregiver…
“We do things that are pretty broad, and then things that are really specific. So the broader things we do are education programs, and we do these all over the place. We’ll come to your Elks Club, we’ll go to your business, and do a lunch-and-learn. That kind of overall 10 warning signs you should be looking for. But also more detailed things, like different ways we can communicate with the person with Alzheimer’s.
“Another thing that we do that really focuses on the caregiver is our support groups, and these come in many different varieties. We have them online, we have them in person. We have some that are just for men, we have some that are just for adult children, taking care of their parents. We also do a lot of early-stage memory loss programs. ‘Oh my gosh, we’re in it now. How do we do this? How do we go from here?’ to give you tricks and tools to be able to manage the next phase of the illness.”
Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.
Hear more podcasts about the Walks
* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com
