‘These will be the good old days’
Geriatric doctor issues call to action for individuals and community
His specialty is geriatric medicine, but Dr. Kenneth Rockwood will often look into the future of individuals and the communities they live in.
“It’s 10 years ago” is his message for both groups, a warning of Alzheimer’s-related risks for individuals and the community a decade or less from now, if action is not immediately taken.
For the individual, he told Wednesday’s Alzheimer’s awareness breakfast, physical activity, healthy eating and an active mind have proven valuable in battling the onset of future Alzheimer’s-related symptoms.
At the podium, he said the community role is a bigger one in that it needs to act now to secure better investment in education, training and research to meet a growing demand for related medical care.
“In 10 years these will be the good old days,” said Rockwood, a professor of geriatric medicine and neurology at Dalhousie University.
“In 10 years this will be the time when dementia was somehow manageable if only, if only, if only we had done a few things. The time is now to get on with that.”
Rockwood has conducted a clinic in Cape Breton the past two and half years. When he started there were two geriatricians here and, at that time,
he had hoped for more help.
Instead, those two aging specialists have moved on, leaving today’s needs for two geriatricians to replace them, as well as two geropsychiatrists, and nurse practitioners, among other things.
“This needs to be an issue,” he said.
“The community needs to organize itself and speak out, look into some stuff and try to figure out what is the plan. Ask the health authority and ask the politicians, ‘what are you doing?’”
Lloyd Brown, executive director of the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, said the greatest
risk factor for dementia is aging and we live in an aging society.
“If we didn’t have enough before we certainly don’t have enough now,” Brown said. “(Rockwood) is right, 10 years ago sounds like the good old days.”
Like Rockwood, he noted Cape Breton’s lack of geriatricians to support family doctors and nurse practitioners to diagnose and support people with dementia.
“Everything that we’ve heard Ken Rockwood say, for the most part, we can do something about. And so the
question becomes how much of that am I going to take responsibility for as an individual?
“I think we each have to ask ourselves that question.”
Wednesday’s breakfast at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre was part of Alzheimer Awareness Month. Brown said stigma around dementia is front and centre as this year’s awareness htheme.
“People need to understand it, people need to know you can live better with dementia, if you seek the right support,” he said.
“This event is all about informing people about how to live with dignity and respect and as healthy as you can.”