CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions offers training for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients

An aging population is producing a growing number of Alzheimer’s and dementia diagnoses in the state. These increasing numbers have prompted first year students at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne to attend training seminars for caring for patients with these diseases. 

WFYI’s Terri Dee talks with Tauhric Brown, president and CEO of CICOA  Aging & In-Home Solutions. The organization works to break down stigmas associated with these mental disorders and offers Dementia Friends Indiana, a program that guides and educates caregivers. 

WFYI Reporter Terri Dee: What does the Dementia Friends Training entail?

Tauhric Brown, President and CEO, CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions: We are talking with our audience about dementia; what individuals who are dealing with dementia go through in various stages of the disease and how caregivers can assist them; so essentially, Terri, it's a foundation. We're building that foundation with classes of either students or other individuals who want to learn about dementia and Alzheimer's related diagnoses, what you may expect to see or what you could see within your loved ones, but then also to give them great tools and resources to help them address some of those challenges that they might see.

Dee: First year students at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne campuses will attend these training seminars. Why do you believe these schools of medicine are acknowledging the need to implement this type of training?

Brown: Let's say because Alzheimer's disease is really the most common form of dementia but other forms include Lewy Body frontal, temporal and vascular dementia. With the rise in the elderly population worldwide, Terri, we're experiencing an epidemic of sorts of dementia and it's not going away anytime soon. When we think about the 2021 State of Aging in Central Indiana report, we know that Americans with Alzheimer's and dementia is projected to reach about 13.8 million individuals by 2050. That's an increase of about 137% from what 2020's numbers were.

Dee: What is CICOA  Aging & In-Home Soliution's level of involvement with Dementia Friends Training?

Brown: Dementia Friends Indiana is a program of CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions in conjunction with Dementia Friendly America. Essentially what our role is, is we work hard to educate people about dementia, with the goal of really breaking down those stigmas and implementing practical changes to make life easier to navigate for those dementia patients and their loved ones. So our involvement really has been over the last several years holding dementia champion sessions where people will sign up to come and be a dementia friend. And you can easily do that by going to our dementiafriendsindiana.org website and look for some of those training opportunities to become a dementia friend. As those individuals go through that training session, we then call them dementia friends and dementia champions. What happens from there is we do a lot of different Memory Cafes on certain topics. We provide continued resources to caregivers to alleviate the burdens that they may be feeling; the stressors that they may be feeling. So we are very involved in this movement on the ground here in central Indiana, Terri.

Dee: Great information as always. Thank you for your time and sharing this information this afternoon, Tauhric.

Brown: It was a pleasure talking with you again, Terri and look forward to more opportunities
 

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Terri Dee at tdee@wfyi.org.