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STAY CONNECTED Human beings are social creatures. We all need inter - personal connections - to friends, family and social groups, whether it be a dance club, sewing circle or church group. These relationships nurture our spirits as much as healthy food nourishes our bodies. It is so easy as you age to slip into isolation. You don't intend to, but you find yourself losing touch with friends, skipping your club meeting or your bowling day, leaving your house less and less. You need your friends and they need you. Reach out! Make the effort to call friends, suggest meeting for lunch or plan to meet for a daily walk. Don't be shy, don't be too proud to ask for a ride if you need one. Staying connected is good for you. It decreases your reliance on just one or two family members or caregivers and increases your goals of staying safe and pindependent. 6 WHEN YOU CAN'T STAYHOME Dementia and the Alzheimer's Association, Aloha Chapter Dementia is not a specific tid w zo disease but a range of E"1O "" _ rowxnex symptoms associated with a severe decline in — memory and other thinking skills, all caused by damage to brain cells. Alzheimer's disease is by far the most common type of dementia. It is progressive and fatal, eventually rendering a person unable to care for himself /herself. Of those people who suffer from some form of dementia, 60% will wander during the course of the disease. Some people become violent or unpredictable. Here on the Big Island, we are very fortunate to have an active and supportive Alzheimer's Association, which offers many free services to both caregivers and forgetful people. Services include quarterly classes, "Living with Forgetfulness," wanderer's programs ("MedicAlert / Safe Return" and "Comfort Zone "), counseling, presentations, information and referral assistance, a safety program and private consultations. Three monthly Alzheimer's support groups are hosted every month in Hilo and one every month in Kona, some for caregivers, some for forgetful people. The Alzheimer's Association has a timd raiser every year called the Walk to End Alzheimer's. This year the Walk will be on Sunday, September 30, in Kona and on Saturday, October 6, in Hilo. Everyone is welcome to register, to walk and to collect donations to support the Alzheimer Association on the Big Island. Register online at the www.alz.org /walk or call 443 -7360 in Hilo or 238 -0484 in Kona. While the goal is to stay at home as long as possible, for some of us, the day will come when we cannot safely continue to live at home. This may be a permanent situation or just temporary while you are recovering from an injury or illness. Here on the Big Island, our long -term care options include: • Adult Residential Care Homes are residences for elders and other vulnerable adults who do not need as much help as a nursing home could provide. They offer a living situation with lighter supervision and assistance with chores, cooking and transportation. They can accept up to five residents. • Community Care Adult Foster Family Homes, often run by families, can be a homey and affordable alternative to a nursing home. Most foster homes accept only two (and never more than three) residents at a time, provide home - cooked meals and provide private bedrooms or two -to -a room. Adult Foster Homes are licensed by the Department of Hunan Services and offer a nursing home level of care. • Life Care Center operates three facilities on the Big Island, Hale Anuenue Restorative Care Center in Hilo and two Life Care Centers, one in Hilo and one in Kona. These facilities are also licensed by the Department of Human Services and otter a nursing home level of care. Life Care can be a temporary or a permanent housing solution. • Hospital Extended Care: Hilo Medical, Ka u, Kohala & Kona Community Hospitals all have extended care acilities. • Hale Hdola Hamakua • The Yukio Okutsu State Veterans' Nursing Home in Hilo, a privately owned facility that has been VA, Medicare and Medicaid approved. If you have a question or concern about a long-term facility, please call the State Long -Term Care Ombudsman, whose number is on the back of this booklet.