Thanks to a new partnership between Right at Home and Ohio County Schools, the first class of students at Wheeling Park High School has been introduced to the physical challenges involved with dementia-related diseases.
The in-home care company operates in both the Wheeling and Morgantown areas and offers a program called, “Dementia Live” to first responders, interested community members, and local students enrolled in Health classes. “Dementia Live” offers an insider view of the challenges encountered by those diagnosed with cognitive diseases.
“Every person who participates in this program comes away with a better understanding about dementia,” explained April Wintermoyer, owner of the Right at Home offices in West Virginia. “We enjoy working with the first responders in our areas so they are prepared to respond to an emergency that involves an individual who has been diagnosed with dementia. Once they experience the program, they possess a better understanding as far as how to approach the individuals.
“We started the programs in the high schools in the Wheeling area because some of those juniors and seniors may have grandparents who are suffering, and ‘Dementia Live’ allows them to personally experience what their grandmother or grandfather are feeling as far as the physical impacts,” she explained. “A vast majority of those students are surprised by it, but it explains a lot to them.”
“Dementia Live” involves attempting ordinary tasks like buttoning a shirt and counting change while wearing special glasses, headphones, and gloves. Afterward, the students meet with Wintermoyer to discuss their impressions, and she also answers whatever questions they may have.
“The firefighters and law enforcement members have a better understanding even before participating in the program, but they learned a lot because of what they have experienced while on duty,” she said. “But the kids always come away with a lot of questions because they may have noticed differences with a relative of theirs. Some of them ask us about this and that when it comes to their family members because they have become concerned.
“And we do this program free of charge because our only goal is to raise awareness about dementia and the many diseases that are involved,” Wintermoyer explained. “By raising the amount of awareness that is present in our communities, it helps to remove the stigma that is attached to diseases like Alzheimer’s. When that happens, the lives of those suffering, and the lives of their caregivers improve, so that why we enjoy going to the schools, the police departments, and the fire stations.”
“Dementia Live” also sparks conversations because of the intrigue it provokes.
“I know the students we met with this week at Wheeling Park are still talking about it because of the questions they had afterward,” Wintermoyer said. “And that’s good because it’s human nature to satisfy our curiosity, and by doing that, we learn more and more, and that’s what needs to happen when it comes to dementia.
“Our staff has worked very hard to reach out to the school systems and first-responder agencies in our communities, but if there is a chief out there, or a Health teacher out there, all they have do is reach out to Right at Home,” she said. “We are scheduled for a few more visits to Wheeling Park, but we welcome those invitations because it helps us with reaching our goals.”
Right at Home also offers a respite care program that allows for care-giving family members to have free time to run errands and have time to themselves. It is all based on the requested schedule by the involved family.
“The caregiver needs to be cared for, too, but that’s something they forget far too often,” Wintermoyer said. “It can be for only an hour, or for several hours. It’s 100 percent up to the family and they quickly realize they shouldn’t have waited for so long.
“And the ‘Dementia Live’ program is offered to those family members who are going to become a caregiver for a love one,” she added. “There’s really no way to completely explain the impact dementia-related diseases have, but this program allows for family members to gain a better understanding.”
