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Help For The Alzheimer’s, Dementia Caregiver Now Includes An In-Hospital Library
June 01, 2017
Maybe you’ve heard that 75,000 people in Connecticut have Alzheimer’s. Given that number, guess how many unpaid caregivers in the state provided care in 2016 for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia?
It’s a staggering 177,000, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, who provided 201 million hours of care in 2016 worth an estimated (and unpaid) $2.5 billion. For many years, the Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging has connected families throughout Central Connecticut with essential services and resources for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia. A lending library that opened May 25 at the Hospital of Central Connecticut will make it easier for caregivers who prefer physical browsing — for virtual browsing, you can still find the Center for Healthy Aging’s online resources here — with dozens of books, DVDs and literature available to anyone by calling 1.877.424.4641. (The library’s materials can be signed out for a month.)
“In the past year alone,” said Lisa Connolly, vice president of Hartford HealthCare Community Network, at the library’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging has served 18,000 seniors through ‘Lunch & Learn’ and ‘Dinner with the Doc’ programs, dementia training, support groups and the caregivers’ resource guide.”
At the new library at the Hospital of Central Connecticut: from left, William Kowalewski, executive director, Southington Care Center; Kate Kerchaert, program officer, Main Street Community Foundation; Lisa Connolly, vice president, Hartford HealthCare Community Network; Susan Sadecki, president and CEO, Main Street Community Foundation; Wendy Martinson, program director, Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging; and Mary Ellen Hobson, RN, MSN, board member, Main Street Community Foundation.
The Center for Healthy Aging’s Dementia Caregiver Resource Guide (download here) remains a primary resource for caregivers, with background on dementia, how to communicate with people through various stages of Alzheimer’s, understanding behaviors related to dementia, the necessary qualities of a caregiver and, finally, legal and financial concerns
Learn more about the risks of Alzheimer’s and the caring for people with dementia-related illness:
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The library is made possible through a grant from the Bradley Henry Barns & Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust at the Main Street Community Foundation. To borrow library materials or for more information about Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging, call 1.877.424.4641.
The Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging, a not-for-profit member of Hartford HealthCare Senior Services, is a resource and assessment center designed to enhance access to services and information related to attaining optimal quality of life for seniors and their caregivers.