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As the saying goes, “Getting old stinks.”
Janice Lundy, the Director of Social Work and Geriatric Care Management at Perry County Memorial Hospital and Dr. James Morley, a professor at St. Louis University, want to slow that process down.
The pair talked about just how the hospital is doing that during a presentation at Coffee and Connections at the Robinson Event Center Tuesday as part of an anti-aging seminar.
The hospital offers a range of programs for people with dementia and other cognitive problems including Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. Lundy was introduced to the idea through a conference at St. Louis University and came back with what she learned and contacted some researchers in London with Debbie Hayden, a co-facilitator at PCMH and actually went to England to learn about the therapy.
Lundy met Morley at another conference and they now work together to bring this therapy to the area.
“The key to the program is to provide the older adults in the area with a way to have a better quality of life while they deal with the effects of dementia and general memory loss,” Lundy said.
Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is a brief, evidence-based non-medicinal treatment approach for persons with mild to moderate dementia.
Evidence shows that CST can be as effective, and in some cases, more effective than medications in treating the symptoms of dementia. Most noted are improvements in memory, concentration, language and verbal skills.
“It’s really incredible, what is going on in Perry County, “ Morley said. “I have been around the world and whenever people ask me where to go to deal with dementia, I always say Perryville.”
The therapy is a multi-step system that starts with an assessment of older adults for fragility and memory loss.
Lundy estimated that about 50 percent of adults would test for some cognitive and functional decline.
For those who test positive there are then put into treatments to slow the dementia. This includes a group therapy program structured as small, themed-based group sessions involving 14 or more sessions of themed activities. It is a seven-week program that meets for one hour, twice a week at the hospital.
“We use a variety of pre and post measures and have seen overall improvements in quality of life and a reduction in depression,” Lundy said.
After the seven weeks, the participants are placed into a maintenance program, of which 70 percent take part in.
Another program for the more advanced cases of dementia is Care of People in their Environments (COPE).
“It’s really caregiver-driven,” Lundy said. “It’s for those people who care for loved ones with dementia and educates them about dementia. It helps with strategies to help give them the best care possible.”
Lundy also introduced an exercise program and others that helps keep the older generation mobile as they age.
“Older adults are the best generation because they can help sustain an economy,” Morely said.
“They are the ones who buy products in our towns and the key is to keep them as healthy and strong as possible.”
