Dealing with dementia
Growing wave of seniors with dementia prompting institutions to take on a more patient-centric approach, from building design to meal times
As the number of senior citizens affected by life-changing conditions such as Alzheimer’s rises, B.C. institutions are adopting more patient-centric approaches to care.
Erna Dreger held out as long as she could. She kept her husband Paul out of the seniors care system for nine years, caring for him at home after he was diagnosed in 2003 with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
But Paul, now 80, liked to go for walks by himself. Erna realized his wandering had become dangerous when he got lost and she had to call in police to find him.
“I knew I had to be smart before something tragic happened,” said Erna, 77.
As she began her agonizing search to find a home for Paul, Erna heard about the Czorny Alzheimer Centre in Surrey. She didn’t know that it was considered among the best publicly funded residential care homes for people living with dementia in the province.
She liked Czorny’s intimate design, which groups 12 residents together in a cottage-like setting. Each has a private room with en suite bathroom and shower.
There are no long hallways like those in institutions such as hospitals. Instead, the living areas are designed so that residents can keep walking without feeling trapped by coming up against a locked door. Residents can also go outside and walk a path in the garden that is bounded by a high fence.
Maybe the biggest plus for Erna is that the staff at Czorny let her play a big role in Paul’s care. She visits him twice a day, usually late in the morning to help him shave, and again at dinner to help feed him.
At 6 p.m., they watch the TV news together. This month, the couple will have been married 58 years.
“I’m happy that I can help Paul, so the staff can be with other residents who don’t have anyone,” she said. “I’m hoping that more facilities like this will be built. Paul and I are very grateful.”
Paul is one of 72 residents at Czorny, one of the province’s 293 residential care facilities — often simply called nursing homes. Altogether, they care for about 27,000 people.
Czorny is unique in several ways, including its groundbreaking approach to design and the flexible way it cares for people with dementia.
But it’s also part of the story about the growing number of people with dementia.
In B.C. in 2018, about 70,000 people live with dementia. By 2033, that number is estimated to increase to almost 120,000. Nationally, the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to 937,000 from 564,000 in the same period.
Part of the reason for the increase in the number of people with dementia is that people are living longer than ever before, said Dan Levitt, an adjunct professor of gerontology at Simon Fraser University. Advanced medical technology, better disease prevention and better nutrition means that many traditional diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and stroke, have become manageable and chronic.
Many people now live into their 80s, 90s and even past 100. “The fastest growing segment is people over 100,” he said.
And because of that bigger pool of elderly people, more