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By Sim Gaunt & Melissa James
The Information and Referral (I&R) Department receives many calls during the month from elders with problems or issues they are unable to solve on their own. We would like to share a few of those calls.
Sundowning
A call was received from young woman who wanted information on a disease known as "Sundowning." She stated that she had spoken to her father’s primary care physician about it and he said he had heard of it, but had little information on it. The I&R worker said that she would do some research and get back to the caller.
On the Internet, the I&R worker found some information about "Sundowning" which she mailed to the caller and called several days later to make sure that the information was received and if it was helpful. It was because of the information, the caller said, that her father was doing a lot better.
"Sundowning" is a phenomenon by which a person with Alzheimer’s disease may become highly agitated, active, confused, combative, anxious and /or restless in the late afternoon or evening. This behavior can be quite out of the ordinary and be very difficult for caregivers. For further information on "Sundowning" contact your primary care physician.
Life Line Systems
A call was received from an elderly woman who was very concerned because she had a passing out spell. She explained this was not the first time, and so she made an appointment to see her primary care physician. Her physician told her it was a good idea to purchase a Life Line System. The elder said she didn’t know much about them and didn’t know where to find one.
The I&R worker gave the elder the names and phone numbers of several Life Line Systems. Several days later the I&R worker called the elder to see how she made out. She said that she had chosen a Life Line service and that it was working out well, and she now feels secure.
Personal Emergency Response Systems (also referred to as Lifelines or PERS), are communication systems that alert a monitoring center that an emergency is occurring in an individual’s home. The participant generally wears a "button" either on a wristband or on a necklace. When a participant needs help he/she pushes the button and a monitoring center will respond to the call for help. The monitoring center can respond in a variety of ways: by calling the participant, by calling the family or a neighbor, by calling emergency medical assistance.
There are some additional services offered by some companies to consider. They include: an extra button installed on the bathroom floor, a voice activated receiver allowing the participant to talk to the monitoring system without picking up the phone, heat and cold sensitive detectors, smoke detectors, Wander Watch button for participants with dementia, radio wave transmitters that do not rely on the phone lines.
For further information please contact Information and Referral at Elder Services.