Alzheimer's is not just a medical problem, it is problem that confronts the whole of society. ~Bob DeMarco
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
This compares to $156 million the United States plans to spend on its National Plan to Address Alzheimer's. About ten percent of that will eventually end up benefiting Alzheimer's caregivers.
"Because home care can tax families, France has launched an unusual and ambitious program of "respite care," which includes adult day care and home-based services that relieve families helping dementia patients.Imagine this program for dementia patients, for about $26 a day, patients do memory-boosting activities like crossword puzzles and knitting, then shop and prepare lunch together.
France has also established regional centers that coordinate Alzheimer's resources, giving families unified sources of information on services such as memory specialists and residential care facilities".
France is training doctors and nurses about the progressive brain disease, adding programs to support families affected by it, building new memory clinics for patients, and tracking progress more scientifically to determine the best and most cost-effective strategies.
It appears in France they understand that Alzheimer's is a societal problem that needs to be attacked on all fronts.
I first read about what they are doing in France in this excellent article in the Wall Stree Journal - France Seeks New Ways to Manage Alzheimer's Care.
I suggest you take the time to read the article, and then come back here and enter your comments.
You could also email the link from the WSJ to your congressman, or local politicians.
If Dotty were alive today we would have to consider moving to France.
Parle-vu francais?
No comments:
Post a Comment