Alzheimer’s Training Program a Big Success for Ohio Area Agency on Aging

Laurel DuBeck, RN is the Community Education Coordinator at the Region 9 Area Agency o­n Aging in Byesville, Ohio. Recently, Ms. DuBeck emailed us to say:

“Thank you for providing your valuable training program o­n Alzheimer’s. I am having a hard time keeping up with the demand for this particular program. It has been met with tremendous enthusiasm and interest and everyone has come away with some knowledge they didn't have before the training. I think that the demand comes because of the absolute frustration of dealing with someone who has Alzheimer's or a related dementia. We hear conflicting methods of dealing with AD patients and few people know enough about the disease to know how to interact with someone afflicted,” Ms. DuBeck said.

“As caregivers,” she continued, “we also need validation that what we are doing is okay and if it isn't, what is it we need to do just to get through today? Even though I am a nurse and I have taken care of an uncle with Alzheimer's and am currently a long-distance caregiver for my father who has Alzheimer's, I couldn't believe how much I didn't know about the disease and how it works! Anyone who attends your training program leaves with a better understanding of the disease and how to interact with someone who has it.”

Ms. DuBeck travels throughout the nine-county area covered by her agency in order to publicize the agency’s caregiver programs by speaking to clubs, churches, and organizations. “The program here is o­nly a little over a year old. In the beginning, I was calling anyone I could think of to schedule speaking engagements,” she said. “Now, the program has taken o­n a life of its own and word of mouth is our biggest advertisement.”