Putnam County Health Department added a new Dementia Navigator to guide patients and caregivers through next steps after a diagnosis.
Dementia Navigator Tracy Bruneau said she will educate the community and spread awareness about all forms of dementia. The program introduces early screenings for dementia and new resources for caregivers and families, such as respite care and support groups.
“There’s so many components of the disease that people are not aware of and don’t think of and that’s where we come into play,” Bruneau said. ‘We sit down with those members and we find out where they’re at in the process and what’s going on and what kinds of needs that they’re needing.”
Bruneau said the Office of Healthy Aging discussed the growing population of aging individuals in Putnam County and the spike in dementia diagnoses. She said that led to the addition of services at the health department.
“The group came together and almost everybody when they sat down to discuss, you know, where do we need to go from here they all had some form of connection to someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia,” Bruneau said. “And they were all in agreement that, hey we need to put something in place because this is an area that a lot of people are not aware of.”
Bruneau said navigators work hard to find local resources for patients through the Area Agency on Aging and Disability and other organizations.
‘If they did not have a service that the family member needs, they will find another resource for them and refer them to that. So we try not to hit that dead end wall, so to say,” Bruneau said. “We really try our hardest to keep on going, to find resources that will benefit the families.’
Bruneau said navigators school families and caretakers on future legal concerns, such as their powers of attorney and advance directives. Bruneau said building a financial plan is crucial before the disease progresses.
“And how important that is to get that at an early stage so that a person that has Alzheimer or dementia can actually be apart of the process and make their own decisions on how they would like things to play out as the disease progresses,” Bruneau “So that’s very important.”
Bruneau said a navigator checks in with diagnosed individuals and their caregivers periodically so they can help navigate through any new problems. Bruneau said reaches out after identifying needs. Bruneau said it can often take multiple hospital visits to get a proper diagnosis. Sometimes patients are only referred to a neurologist and not given any other resources, Bruneau said.
