Alzheimer's Reading Room
Yesterday morning I received a very nice email from an elderly woman in California. She had been to the website for my book, and commented on the work I’m doing, my story, and Visiting Angels, as well as giving me some information about herself and husband, who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.
After a couple emails back and forth I asked her how she came to my website?She forwarded me the blog from the Alzheimer’s Reading Room, entitled Great Places Inc. Although I subscribe to the email, I sometimes am so busy I do not get a chance to read it. I returned from a conference last weekend in San Diego and after a week gone, my return was spent catching up.
I had no idea my blog was mentioned until this dear woman informed me.
I feel privileged and honored to be mentioned in this blog by all of you. Thank you so much! I know how much that experience in the nursing home affected me and my life’s work, but had no idea that telling the story would affect others the way it has. I have received several comments from people saying it was very emotional for them. That thrills me more than I can say! If we can get to the emotional side of people working with seniors, and provide a different way to think when they’re caring for someone, I know care will improve.
Although there is much more to the book I’m writing, that experience is really the basis for what I am trying to get across. Seniors have a life, a story, events, emotions, thoughts, feelings, and opinions, if they are able.
Professional caregivers, and health care workers usually do not know the people they care for prior to care, and most of the time don’t care to know them or think about knowing them. Nothing is more true than people afflicted with Alzheimer’s or other devastating illnesses that cause a significant change in personality and demeanor.
My goal is to just provide a change in their thoughts when caring for someone, to get to know their care recipients lives prior to the affliction, or even just realize and wonder about them. With everything in me I know that if we can change the caregiver perception, we will improve care.
It really is my honor and privilege to be associated with all of you. I admire the work you are all doing, and the support of each other in senior advocacy can only help the cause of better treatment and care of our elder population.
We all see the droves of people that are coming into senior care and services motivated by making money with the impending growth of the aged population.
It is going to be more imperative than ever that those of us motivated by empathy band together as a force in respectful and dignified care and advocacy, so our seniors are not taken advantage of and being provided less than they deserve (my emphasis).
Angil Tarach-Ritchey( RN, GCM is a national expert in senior care. With over 30 years experience in senior care and advocacy Angil is well respected in her field, as the owner of Visiting Angels homecare agency in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Angil writes for several websites including the Alzheimer’s Reading Room, Wellsphere, and AnnArbor.com. Her articles appeared in the Chicago Sun Times, Maturity Matters, Medpedia, and several other publications. Angil has been featured in WE Magazine for Women, and Abecs Small Business Review. Angil is authoring the book “Behind the Old Face”, to change the perception of the elderly in America, with plans to develop a national training program.
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Original content Angil Tarach-Ritchey, the Alzheimer's Reading Room
