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| Senior Helpers is participating in National Memory Screening Day |
Senior Helpers Offering Free Memory Screenings for Alzheimer’s Disease
Local in-home care provider performing Alzheimer’s screenings for National Memory Screening Day
Antioch, CA – As Alzheimer’s cases continue to rise rapidly, putting a huge strain on the health care system and American families, senior experts suggest a new weapon to fight the onset of the disease: an early memory screening. Senior Helpers, the nation’s fastest growing provider of in-home care for seniors, will do its part in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease by providing free screenings for seniors for National Memory Screening Day.
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has organized National Memory Screening Day (NMSD) for November 17, 2009. NMSD was started in 2003 and has been held every November since inception. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America created the day as part of its mission to provide “optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families.”
Senior Helpers will be holding free screenings for seniors at their offices on Tuesday, November 17. The free screening is open to any interested senior and consists of a one-on-one interview with a Senior Helpers professional asking a series of questions along with certain tasks designed to test memory, language skills, thinking ability and other intellectual functions.
“Alzheimer’s disease affects millions of Americans, not to mention their loved ones,” says Jenny Lind, owner of Senior Helpers in East County. “We at Senior Helpers want to do our part to help the senior community combat the disease. We are glad to be participating in National Memory Screening Day by providing memory screenings free of charge to seniors who are concerned about memory loss from Alzheimer’s.”
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America outlines why a memory screening is important (Source: Alzheimer’s Foundation of America):
• Memory screenings are a significant first step toward finding out if a person may have a memory problem. Memory problems could be caused by Alzheimer’s disease or other medical conditions.
• While a memory screening is not used to diagnose a particular illness and does not replace consultation with a qualified physician or other healthcare professional, it is very helpful in checking a person’s memory and other thinking skills and can indicate if someone might benefit from a more complete medical visit.
• It is very important to identify the disease or problem that is causing memory loss. That is why a person should follow up for a complete checkup with a qualified healthcare professional.
• Some memory problems can be readily treated, such as those caused by vitamin deficiencies or thyroid problems while others could be from Alzheimer’s. In general, the earlier the diagnosis, the easier it is to treat one of these conditions.
• Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can improve quality of life. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease can learn more about the disease, including available and emerging medical treatments; get counseling and other social services support in their community; address legal, financial and other planning issues; and have more of a say in decision making. They can discuss treatment, future care and other issues with their loved ones, rather than having to make decisions on their own.
For more information about this event or to set up an interview with Senior Helpers, please contact the Senior Helpers office in Concord at 925-677-2150.
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Posted on Nov 11, 2009 11:44am by jlindsh
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