Dementia Resources from the Alzheimer's Association

Dr. Elizabeth Edgerly and Alexandra Morris of Alzheimer’s Association cover dementia resources including memory care, and their importance to families affected by the illness.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s science, and their dual focus consists of creating a world without the disease and enhancing the quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.

Their suggested resources for dementia patients and families include specific memory care resources and support, including:

• Care consultations
• 24-hour helplines
• Support groups
• Educational material
• Information on local resources

First understanding what type of dementia your loved one has can help guide what kind of resources families need, whether it’s individual memory care consultations or assisted living options.

Other dementia resources include the National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center (NADRC), which has webinars, assessment tools and information about Alzheimer’s Disease.

Need Memory Care Housing Options?

For more information and resources to support your family, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at www.alz.org.

If you have a loved one who is in need of memory care, Seniorly.com is full of senior housing communities that specialize in memory care for those with Alzheimer's and other related dementias. Start your search by entering your zip code or city below. 

Transcript: 

Dr. Elizabeth E: Hi, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Edgerly, the Chief Program Officer for the Alzheimer's Association, and this is my colleague ...

Alexandra M.: Alexandra Morris, I'm the Professional Training Specialist.

Dr. Elizabeth E: The Alzheimer's Association is the national movement to defeat Alzheimer's. So, our focus is twofold. We're about creating a world without Alzheimer's, and enhancing quality of life for those who are living with Alzheimer's or related dementias, and the family members and others who care for those individuals.

Dr. Elizabeth E: So, our work involves raising money for research. You may not know that we're the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's science in the world. So, we're working as best we can to try to change the future for those living with the disease and for future generations.

Dr. Elizabeth E: Another way we do that is through our public policy and advocacy efforts. We find that we can raise money but Congress can raise more money, actually. So, a lot of our work is trying to work with people like you to speak up and ask for more funding for Alzheimer's science.

Dr. Elizabeth E: Then the third leg of our work relates to you, and providing care and support for families. 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer's or other dementias, and Alex is gonna talk a little bit about what those services are.

Alexandra M.: Sure. So, we have a 24-hour helpline, which is available to family members, really anybody. Anyone who has questions or concerns, we do care consultations where we get in-depth and provide practical advice. Like, for example, one of the most common questions that we get is around bathing. How do I get my person who's now resistant to bathing to do that? And we will essentially hold their hand over the phone and coach them through that.

Alexandra M.: We offer local resources. We have wonderful support groups, not only for caregivers but folks with the disease itself. We provide terrific education, both in person, webinars, links. There's all sorts of wonderful information that's available. We want to help.

Dr. Elizabeth E: No one should go through Alzheimer's alone. We're here for you and we strongly encourage you to reach out and meet other people going on this journey as well. What we found is that some of the best lessons we've learned are from caregivers like you and people living with the disease. So, please visit our website at alz.org and check out the classes and groups that Alex mentioned, or give us a call anytime. We're here day or night. Thanks.

Alexandra M.: Thanks.