The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

December 12, 2009

Dementia makes demands on families

Precautions can aid care at home

By Patrick Cooley

MERCER COUNTY AREA — The death a week ago of an 85-year-old Wheatland woman was a tragic reminder of the plight of many the area’s elderly residents and the challenges their families face.

Julia Sabulsky, who suffered from dementia, walked away from her home on Riddell Street last Saturday night. She was found dead the next day within the confines of Wheatland Tube. She froze to death a half-mile from her home, according to the coroner.

Authorities said at the time that she most likely got lost and couldn’t find her way back to her house.

As the population ages, there are more and more people with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is often difficult for family members to care for their elderly spouses and parents.

That is especially prevalent in areas like Mercer County, where about 18 percent of the population is over 65, compared to 12 percent nationally. In Wheatland, the figure is 23 percent.

Dr. Michael Matthews, a neurologist for UPMC Horizon hospitals in Farrell and Greenville, works with patients who are losing their mental capacity, and often talks to their families about how to care for them.

He said the most difficult time often is when a person first starts to show signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. When the disease takes full effect, often the person is placed in a home where they are cared for by trained professionals.

“Many families feel guilty about (putting a relative in an assisted living facility or nursing home),” he said. “But sometimes that’s what’s best for them. They have bed checks there, and people who handle them 24 hours a day, whereas an adult caretaker (of a person with dementia) has to go to work.”

There are many ways a person can take precautions when they have a relative with these issues, Dr. Matthews said.

Many alarm systems can be set to alert a person if one of the doors of the house is being opened. There are also GPS sensors that a person can wear so their family knows where they are at all times.

But there are also many less expensive precautions, such as simply making sure all the doors of a house are locked.

“Limit the number of exits to the house, make sure they can’t leave without first getting by you,” Dr. Matthews said. “You can observe or watch them the same way you would watch a younger child. You really can’t take your eyes off them.”

Another simple thing a family can do, he said, is make sure their elderly relatives aren’t over-medicated.

“The tendency to wander increases if they are sick or over-medicated,” Dr. Matthews said. “You want to make sure they are not groggy from meds.”

Loneliness is another reason an elderly person might try to escape the house, he said. A family should be sure that their elderly relative always has something to do, Dr. Matthews said, even if it is something as simple as keeping the television on for them to watch.

He added that there is no subsititute for vigilant neighbors.

“In many cases they might see grandma walking down the street and they’ll get ahold of you,” Dr. Matthews said. “A lot of people tell me that’s how they got their parents back.”

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