Learn more about how the Alzheimer's Association offers free respite for family caregivers

There is no such thing as a "day off" for those who care for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

But there is help.

The Alzheimer's Association Greater East Ohio Area offers a free Caregivers Relief Program in 22 counties, including Stark, Wayne, Summit and Portage.

Karen A. Elliot, a licensed social worker, is the association's clinical manager.

"So it's really about the caregiver, getting them a break, getting them some relief as opposed to some of the programs that are already in the community," she said. "This focuses more on the person that needs the help. This is more of a gift to a caregiver ... just some time away to just rejuvenate and reset and fill their cup again."

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The Jan & Josephine Castora Family Caregiver Relief Program was launched in 2021 with a $1 million gift from Jan Castora of Strongsville. He was the primary caregiver for his wife, Josephine, who died from dementia in 2019.

"He made a gift to the association and dreamed of this idea," Elliot said. "He was able to afford the cost of services to get a break, to go golfing and to do some things he wanted to do, but he recognized that not everybody had the same opportunity."

According to statistics provided by the association: More than 11 million Americans, including 493,000 Ohioans, provide unpaid care for someone with dementia. This represents an average of 30 hours of care per caregiver per week, or 1,560 hours per year.

Elliot noted that 83% of home-based help provided to older adults in the U.S. comes from family members, friends or unpaid caregivers.

Women constitute two-thirds of all Alzheimer's/dementia diagnoses. Though women tend to outlive men, researchers have not uncovered a definitive factor for such disparity.

North Canton resident backs Caregivers Relief

Teresa Nelson said she can't say enough about the program. The North Canton resident said the respite was an immense help to her and to her late mother, Mildred Holland, who died recently at 90.

"It's a wonderful program," Nelson said. "I just loved the people. I'm surprised that more people don't know about it. Even my mother's hospice nurses didn't know it existed."

Nelson said she spotted a flyer at the Geriatric Medicine Center at Summa Health in Akron, and called the agency.

"I started getting help in November of 2022," Nelson said. "My mother got to where, when I would take her out, it was just very difficult. It got to where it was almost impossible. I couldn't leave her in the car when the weather was cold for fear she would try drive the car. I had to have time to go to the grocery store and to the pharmacy."

Nelson said her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about three years ago.

"Everybody thought that Grandma was just getting forgetful," she recalled. "But it got worse than that. My mother started hallucinating, and we realized that she couldn't live alone; she needed full-time care."

Nelson said her mother moved to Rockwall, Texas, to an assisted care facility across the street from Nelson's brother. After she fell and broke her leg, Nelson brought her back to North Canton to live with her.

More details on the Caregivers Relief Program

Elliot said the agency's relief program offers caregivers respite services based on the following criteria.

"They have to be providing daily care to someone with any kind of memory loss, and not currently utilizing any paid services or are able to afford the costs on their own," she said. "They're not using in-home care, they're not using adult day care. They don't have a tremendous amount of family help. They're pretty much on their own in providing daily care."

Typically, caregiver families are approved for a total of 100 hours.

"And then we work with them on what that looks like, but it does need to be a weekly break," Elliot said.

Elliot said Alzheimer's caregivers experience substantially more struggles than those caring for someone who doesn't have the disease. Nearly 60% of those caregivers report emotional stress, with almost 40% suffering from physical stress.

"A lot of caregivers become quite isolated because maybe they can't get out of the house easily with their loved ones, so they're not taking care of their health, they're not taking care of their emotional and social needs," she said. "And that's really important, to recharge and to be able to come back fresh and, you know, give your all to someone."

Elliot said the association contracts with adult daycare providers and home care providers in Canton, but not in every county.

"We don't have that option in every area," she said.

Mildred Holland's caregivers came from Home Instead, a private agency that contracts with the respite program. All caregivers are vetted and trained and must pass background checks.

"When Mom first got here, I needed them badly," Nelson said. "When they weren't able to supply a caregiver for me, that meant that I had to hire one myself and pay out of pocket for one, and with me not being able to work, it put a strain on our budget."

Nelson said her mother's caregivers went above and beyond.

"They did such a wonderful job of matching my mother with caregivers that she could talk with," Nelson said. "Her caregivers were wonderful people. They would always ask if there was something that I needed."

Elliot said the Alzheimer's Association also offers free "dementia-care coaching" or educational information to caregivers who may not want or require respite services.

"It's really a one-on-one conversation about what's going on with their particular situation and coming up with some really actionable stuff in the form of an action plan to like make life better for everybody."

To learn more about the program email to: caregiverreliefprogram@alz.org or contact Elliot directly at  234-284-2750.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

Did you know:

∎ Women make up two-thirds of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's/dementia.

∎ Blacks are twice as likely as whites to have Alzheimer's/dementia; Latinos are one-and-half times more likely to have it compared to whites.

∎ Two-thirds of Alzheimer's/dementia caregivers are daughters of those with the disease.

Source: Alzheimer's Association Greater East Ohio

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alzheimer's Association Greater East Ohio offers free respite care