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The Oregon Caregiver
Spring/Summer 2017
www.ohca.com10
FEATURE
classes and last year they held 279 classes,
some of which were in partnership with
Oregon Care Partners.
Holland mentioned that one of the
challenges to disseminating information
is that there is a stigma related to
Alzheimer’s disease, not only for the
person but also for the families. “It
might be that the daughter really sees
the changes in her father, but her mom
perhaps isn’t as aware because it’s been
subtle and she’s saying, ‘Oh, he’s just
getting older.’ Or that someone who lives
by themselves can mask and cope around
the challenges that are starting to arise
until there’s really a crisis situation, such
as they’re driving and they get confused
and disoriented, or it’s an issue of
balance and perception and they fall and
break a bone,” she said.
Holland said, “We’re working to create
awareness, not only around Alzheimer’s
disease and dementia, but also around
the programs and services available.”
Before Cindy Hannum retired 10 years
ago, she was overseeing licensing,
regulatory, and protective services;
community based care policy; and
nursing facility policy for the Oregon
Department of Human Services (DHS).
Through her office, DHS produced
the Alzheimer’s endorsed licensing
regulations, which are now regulations
for memory care.
During her time at DHS, Hannum’s
mother developed Lewy body dementia,
a dementia with symptoms that can
include memory loss, Parkinson’s
symptoms, and visual hallucinations.
For about 18 months, Hannum moved
in with her mother and cared for her
while she was working. Through her
experiences, Hannum understands the
difficult situations of adult children who
have to take care of their parents.
“In my case, I had to do it by myself.
Fortunately, I had knowledge and I had
links to resources. So, I feel very strongly
about a couple of sections of the Purple
Ribbon Commission report that talk
about information for caregivers and
caregiver support,” she said.
What eventually prompted Hannum to
place her mother into a care community
was the Parkinson’s element of the Lewy
body dementia. “She got very rigid.
When someone is dead weight and very
rigid it’s extremely difficult without two
people to do care,” she said. Hannum
also mentioned that she suffered an
injury while caring for her mother and,
through her experience, she sympathizes
for caregivers. “I worry about them
almost more than I do the folks with
dementia, because I know just how
challenging and exhausting it can be. I
would work a pretty demanding job and
then come home and be a caregiver. And
I wasn’t young, I mean I was in my 50s,”
she said.
Having experience in both government
oversight and being a caregiver, Hannum
sees the importance of the Purple Ribbon
Commission. “I think it’s very important
for government to do collaborative efforts
with provider associations, and others, to
maximize the providers’ ability to recruit,
retain, and provide good care,” she said.
OHCA, our members, and a wide variety
of vested stakeholders are always working
to advance the quality of care for all
Oregonians relying on long term care
services and support. Now more than ever,
with the number of Oregonians diagnosed
with dementia expected to increase by
40 percent in less than 10 years, bringing
these parties together to put forth ideas
about how exactly to advance dementia
care is critical. Taking the Commission’s
recommendations into consideration
and applying them throughout the state
will go a long way in positively shaping
the memory care landscape for future
generations.
The Commission convened for a day-long symposium on November 4 featuring presentations from other subject matter
experts, family members, consumers, state regulators, and dementia service providers.
» PURPLE RIBBON COMMISSION, CONT.