By Anne Ruisi
There comes a point in the slow march of Alzheimer’s and dementia that communication with loved ones requires a certain set of skills.
Founders Place, a ministry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook, in collaboration with Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama and Mountain Brook Baptist Church on March 21 will offer a Lunch and Learn program, Compassionate Communication, while also offering its regular respite care program at the same time.
Lead by Dr. Renee Brown Harmon, author of “Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright,” the program will help families learn to navigate the waters of effective communication with a loved one affected by dementia.
Harmon knows well the rises and falls of that journey. Her late husband, Dr. Harvey Harmon, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 50. At the time, the couple shared a medical practice in North Shelby County.
Her book chronicles the eight years of her husband’s illness, until his death in 2018 at the age of 58. It tells the story of her family’s journey through the illness and offers insights gleaned from the experience.
While the Lunch and Learn program featuring Harmon is going on at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, Founders Place will be offering its regular Tuesday respite program for people affected by dementia and their caregivers.
Based on a program developed by First United Methodist Church of Montgomery 10 years ago, the model has spread to other states, such as Florida, Georgia, California and Washington, said Susanna Whitsett, executive director of Founders Place and St. Luke’s staff liaison for mature adults.
It calls for apt use of facilities’ space and faith communities, like a church, synagogue or whatever it may be.
The Founders Place program is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During that time, regular caregivers get a few hours of respite, and their loved ones do, as well, Whitsett said.
Program Also Serves Volunteers
The program is volunteer driven. Seventy percent of the volunteers are members of St. Luke’s and other volunteers are drawn from the community.
“So, it’s serving the person with a memory challenge, is serving their caregiver, but it’s also serving the volunteer because it’s really a life-giving volunteer gig,” Whitsett said.
“The volunteers want to be connected to something meaningful that really makes a difference, and they find that here,” she added. “It’s just life-giving for everybody in the room.”
Every participant is paired with a volunteer who has been trained in how to communicate with a person with dementia.
Activities for Seniors
On a recent Thursday, 18 participants were paired with a volunteer for each. With a few other volunteers, the number of people involved numbered 44.
A typical session starts with coffee and chitchat, Whitsett said.
There are hands-on activities such as working on puzzles or arranging flowers, a daily devotion or a short talk and singing. The group always engages in creative movement, such as chair exercise and moving to 1950s and ‘60s pop music, like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, Whitsett said.
There is time dedicated to what Founders Place calls Brain Fitness, where participants engage in individual activities, such as crafts and painting.
A hot catered lunch with real plates, glasses and tablecloths is served at each session by volunteers who clean up afterward.
“We try to do it just to pay attention to the environment as best we can,” Whitsett said.
After lunch one recent afternoon, the group sang hymns many of them were familiar with, such as “Peace Like a River” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
The volunteers undergo training that includes learning about dementia and its various causes, Whitsett said. They also learn how to interact with someone who’s experiencing living with dementia.
“Everybody’s different though,” Whitsett said. “If you meet one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia.”
But there are general guidelines, “which are really just the same kind of guidelines that a kind person would utilize in any interaction,” she said. “These include intentional listening, giving assistance when assistance is needed but not hovering or infantilizing.”
The volunteers want to give the participants a sense of security but also a sense of autonomy as appropriate, that they won’t be put on the spot, tested or made to feel more uncomfortable about the challenge of their memory, Whitsett said.
“This is a place where we hope, you know, we nurture a sense of community and connection and honor, the dignity of every person and knowing that some people in the group need more assistance than others,” she added.
Founders Place has two other components, including Care Partners, a community support group for caregivers. It meets on Zoom every Tuesday 10:15-11:15 a.m. and you don’t have to be a member of Founders Place or St. Luke’s to participate. For more information, send an email to [email protected].
Community Education is the third component and consists of two or three events a year, such as Harmon’s upcoming talk at the Lunch and Learn event, Whitsett said.
