Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It is very common with about three million cases per year. As the population of the United States ages, the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease will increase. It is a growing health issue.
Until there is a cure, caregivers need to be armed with education and the tools to provide the best possible care for their loved ones and make sure that they and their loved ones are living a high quality of life.
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support, services and education to individuals, families and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias nationwide and to fund research for better treatment and a cure. Its services include a National Toll-Free Helpline (866-232-8484), the National Memory Screening Program, educational conferences and materials as well as ‘AFA Partners in Care’ dementia care training for health care professionals.
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s toll-free hotline is staffed by licensed social workers trained in dementia care. The Helpline is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The Helpline has a webchat feature and is also available via text message at 646-585-5283. The web chat and text message features are available in over 90 different languages.
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America also offers educational conferences and webinars and hosts daily virtual therapeutic programming in the forms of art, music, dance and fitness.
Its National Memory Screening Program offers free, confidential, virtual memory screenings. A memory screening is a simple and safe evaluation tool that checks memory and other thinking skills. It can indicate whether an additional checkup by a qualified health care professional is needed.
It also offers dementia care training for professionals and research grants. One important program it offers is caregiver support groups.
“Knowledge is a useful and powerful tool that can help make any situation easier to navigate, especially something as challenging as caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
For more information that the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has to offer, please visit www.alzfdn.org.
