Caregiving

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Care options

In-home care

In-home care includes a wide range of services to help a person with Alzheimer's or another dementia stay at home. It also can help caregivers. Here are some helpful resources:

• In-Home health care
• Home-care services
  

Adult day services

Adult day centers offer social and safe activities for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. Information on adult day services in Oregon is available here.

Residential care settings

Does the person with Alzheimer's or another dementia prefer a communal-living environment? Or does the person need more care than he or she can get at home? If so, a residential care setting may be the best option. Different types provide different levels of care.

• Learn more about residential care
• Learn more about residential care in Oregon

Care strategies

Activities at home

People with Alzheimer's or another dementia can still do the activities they love. Many activities can be modified to the person's ability. Activities can reduce behaviors like wandering or agitation and enhance quality of life.

Communication tips

When people have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, their ability to communicate gradually declines. Communicating requires patience, understanding and good listening skills. The Alzheimer’s Association has helpful information on changes in communication, helping the person with Alzheimer's communicate, and best ways for you to communicate.

• Download a brochure on communication tips.

Behavior tips

As Alzheimer's and other dementias progress, behaviors change.

• Learn more from the Alzheimer’s Association
• The Oregon Family Caregiver Handbook includes a section that focus on dealing with challenging behaviors.

Where to get more help

Support groups and caregiver services

You are not alone. Support groups provide emotional and practical support to family members and friends whose loved one has Alzheimer’s. Several organizations provide local caregiver support groups. The Alzheimer’s Association Oregon Chapter hosts support groups for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, as well as for caregivers. The national Alzheimer’s Association offers a telephone support group from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time the first Monday of every month. Call Tel: 1-800-272-3900 for information or visit the Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Center.

Oregon's ADRC provides information on local caregiver programs and resources.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides local services for veterans with Alzheimer’s and their families.

Free trainings offered by Oregon Care Partners

Oregon Care Partners helps caregivers improve the lives and care of aging Oregonians by providing access to no-cost, high-quality trainings across Oregon. Classes are available to anyone living or working in the state of Oregon and are available both online and in-person. In-person classes are held around the state and led by caring professionals in the field of long term care. Online classes are self-paced and most take only an hour to complete. Family members, all levels of professional caregivers and members of the public are encouraged to register. Training topics include:

• Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and other related dementias;
• Strategies to manage common challenging behaviors like anger and aggression;
• Safe medication management to improve health outcomes and quality of life for aging Oregonians;
• Specialized training for public safety workers on Alzheimer’s and other related dementias.

One-on-one support

The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline provides information and support. The helpline serves people with memory loss, caregivers, health care professionals and the public. Help is available for matters such as, but not limited to: understanding memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's; medications and other treatment options; general information about aging and brain health; skills to provide quality care and to find the best care; and legal, financial and living-arrangement decisions.

The helpline also features: confidential care consultation by master's-level clinicians, who can help with decision making, crises and education; and help in a caller's preferred language, using a translation service, which offers more than 170 languages and dialects.

• Tel: (1-800-272-3900) (TDD: 866-403-3073)

The ADRC of Oregon offers information, referral and options counseling. ADRCs help individuals and families find local long-term care options.

• Tel: (1-855-673-2372)