October 14, 2009
Horses Help Comfort Seniors with Memory Problems
(Tribune photo by Lane Christiansen/October 9, 2009)
(Oct. 14, 2009 – Chicago Tribune, by: Lisa Black)- Ravaged by Alzheimer’s disease, Chris Klabunde, 73, speaks very little and sometimes forgets when he has eaten his last meal. But recently he returned home, chatting up a storm about a gentle old draft horse named Woody that he had brushed and stroked at the Main Stay Therapeutic Riding Program in Richmond.
“He told everybody about it — his kids, his grandkids,” said his wife, Peggie, of Woodstock, who was amazed.
He’s one of 18 senior citizens with memory loss or dementia in McHenry County whose lives have been transformed by an equine program traditionally used to help youngsters with disabilities.
Family Alliance, Inc., a nonprofit agency in Woodstock that promotes independence for adults 55 and older, teamed up with the Main Stay stables to provide the six-week sessions. In December, the Illinois Association of Adult Day Care will honor the partners during the Governor’s Conference on Aging in Chicago.
But the future of the program is in doubt since funding provided by the McHenry County Community Foundation has run out.
“I am sure we will be resubmitting grants … to link up with McHenry County agencies,” said stable owner Sara Foszcz. “I have high hopes we will find funding.”
Client fees cover only 15 percent of the stable’s costs, with outside donations making up most of the $400,000 annual budget, she said.
Pairing horses and seniors exceeded expectations, officials said, after trained therapists allayed any concerns about mixing frail elderly with the animals.
Family Alliance regular Ron Schmoller, 73, has asked about the horses every day since his first visit, said agency caregiver Deanna Kafka. Schmoller arrived recently with a loaf of French bread that he fed Woody.
Nearby, Franziska “Fran” Clemons, 64, laughed heartily as she recalled how a horse greeted her for the first time.
“I said, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And he sneezed right in my face,” she said.
Carol Louise, executive director for Family Alliance, said that at first she wasn’t sure if many people would be interested in visiting the stable. The staff selected five clients with dementia who they thought would benefit.
“When they came back, all the other clients were up in arms and said, ‘We want to go, we want to go,’ ” she said. “We had to do a lottery.”
The results sometimes left staff members in tears, from the first day when a 92-year-old woman happily announced from atop a horse that she could do anything. Another woman with dementia never smiled, Kafka said, until she went to the stables.
“She came out here with no fear, and just started brushing and brushing the horse,” Kafka said. “I have pictures of it — she has a full grin.”
The same day, the woman wrote on a paper plate the name of the horse, Blackjack, and several other words. Now she keeps a journal.
“I got goose bumps; it was just amazing,” said Kafka, adding that it’s the most effective program she has seen during seven years at the agency, especially considering the short time it took to achieve results.
Peggie Klabunde is another believer. Her husband worked 37 years as a purchase manager before he began showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Family Alliance’s day program “has been a godsend,” offering her respite and giving her husband time to socialize, she said.
She was surprised that he took to the horses so quickly.
“He said, ‘If we had a farm, I would bring a horse home,’ ” Klabunde said. “I said, ‘We’ll work on that at a later date.’ “
October 6, 2009
Meeting the Challenges of Long-Distance Caregiving
by Athan Bezaitis, MA
(Aging Well Magazine- September/October 2009) Skilled professionals and cutting-edge technologies combine to effectively dispatch tasks related to caring for loved ones living far from concerned caregivers.
Overcoming the challenges of caring for an ailing loved one from afar takes organization, teamwork, and a certain amount of trust that tasks will be completed without direct supervision. The process calls for gathering family members, tapping into community support, and dealing with a never-ending line of medical and legal professionals. The goal is to make life as independent and comfortable as possible for the older adult in need while maintaining one’s own sanity at the same time. Fortunately for overwhelmed caregivers who live far away from older adults in their charge, there is someone who can help.
No, it’s not Superman–although the ability to fly at superhuman speeds would certainly come in handy for this job. It’s a geriatric care manager, a professional trained in long-term care with a specialized focus on issues of aging. Minus the cape, the care manager assesses the older adult’s living situation and devises a plan of action for the caregiver that can help make the experience both rewarding and relatively worry free.
Unique Profiles and Problems
Most of the approximately 7 million long-distance caregivers in America are well educated, affluent, and married, according to studies from AARP, MetLife, and the National Council on Aging. Their ages generally range from 46 – 51, with a 60% of them being women and just over 20% caring for parents with dementia. “On average, long-distance caregivers live between 300 and 450 miles away and spend about four to seven hours traveling one way to the care recipient,” says Cathy Jo Cress, MSW, an instructor in geriatric home care management at San Francisco State University and the author of Care Managers: Working With the Aging Family.
Regardless of caregivers’ sex or socioeconomic status, distance makes the already difficult job of caring for an ailing loved one even more difficult. The experience of a long-distance caregiver is much different from and usually more complicated than that of a caregiver who lives nearby. “It’s important to know the local resources and services and also to have in place a strong support system to communicate with weekly, to keep good notes, and to join a support group,” says Donna Benton, PhD, director of the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center. “Too frequently, long-distance caregivers do not ask for help, do not keep updated on lists, and do not have emergency backup plans.” They also face increased costs in travel and time. According to a 2007 study from Evercare, long-distance caregivers spend an average of $8,728 per year on care provision compared with $4,500 to $5,885 for all other caregivers.
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*Family Alliance provides 30+ hours of supervised personalized care during the week days to help out-of-state caregivers feel at ease knowing their loved one is in a stimulating and safe environment monitored by nurses and nursing assistants trained in geriatrics. Family Alliance also employs full-time community support staff and Licensed Clinical Social Workers to make sure the senior has access to community resources like meals on wheels, transportation and subsidized funding they qualify for. Our Social Workers and Community Support Staff speak with the senior and the caregiver on a regular basis to ensure they are following the care plan agreed on in the intake assessment. For more information on Family Alliance’s services please visit us online, or call 815.338.3590.
