Dementia caregivers struggling, help on the horizon

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Nearly seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and experts project that number to increase. But caregivers cannot keep up.

One project is being put in place to help. The GUIDE Model is designed to meet the unique needs of people living with dementia and those taking care of them, such as improving quality of life and reducing strain on caretakers.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. That includes caring for family members and friends.

“We know here in Ohio that in 2025, we’re projecting about 250,000 Ohioans living with the disease. And we know that for every person living with dementia, there’s usually one to five caregivers that are involved in that care,” said Pam Myers, senior director of programs for the Alzheimer’s Association of Northwest Ohio.

Myers says those caregivers are struggling.

“In particular, our dementia caregivers, they suffer with isolation, they suffer with depression. More than other caregivers because with this disease, they’re limited in what they can do and where they can go and who they interact with at times, and so this disease can be very isolating so sometimes they’re alone,” said Myers.

Myers says not only does this take a toll on them mentally, but financially as well.

“We know that the average cost, lifetime cost for a person living with dementia is about $400,000 and about 70% of that comes out-of-pocket from family’s income,” Myers said.

Starting July 1, those who need help will be able to receive it through a new pilot project called GUIDE.

“GUIDE stands for ‘GUiding an Improved Dementia Experience.’ And basically, the short answer is the fact that what it will do is provide a dementia care navigator to families that will coordinate their care, comprehensively link their medical appointments together, their resources, things that they need be a resource if they need help and just really coordinate all of their care,” Myers said.

Myers hopes this will positively impact those with dementia and their caregivers in the future.

“An overall goal of the project is to keep people at home,” said Myers. “People want to age in place, they want to age at home. And so by providing that support and that coordination, we really feel that people will benefit from that.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, three in five dementia caregivers say less stress and more peace of mind are potential benefits of having a care navigator and 56% say it could help them be better caregivers.

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