Marsha and Bob Grant, President and Vice President, Cleansing Water, Inc., Home Health Care Services
Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and placing tremendous caregiving demands on family, friends, and the American health care system.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association,14.9 million family and friends provided 17 billion hours of unpaid care in 2010 to those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The demands of providing unpaid care to Alzheimer’s patients can have its own domino effect, creating emotional distress and even triggering depression on the part of the caregivers.
The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s in our aging population, and the toll it takes on family caregivers, raises these questions:
- Who will get Alzheimer’s?
- Is there any way of predicting the likelihood of getting this disease?
- What sets those with this debilitating degenerative brain disorder apart from those who do not get the disease?
The first noticeable signs of Alzheimer’s include memory loss and cognitive decline, but not all people who develop such problems get Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research indicates that people with a high level of amyloid protein in their spinal fluid are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with less of the protein.
When amyloid protein builds up in the brain, it forms sticky plaques which eventually strangle and kill delicate nerves. Scientists say it is now possible to pick up traces of an early form of amyloid in the spinal fluid before memory lapses start.
Advances in testing now make it possible to predict Alzheimer’s with 80% accuracy.
If you would like to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, click here for Alzheimer’s facts and figures from the Alzheimer’s Association.
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Cleansing Water, Inc., is a home health care agency providing respite care for Alzheimer’s patients and their family caregivers throughout the Northern Virginia area. We are licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and maintain a commercial business office in Old Town Warrenton, Virginia. We offer a full-range of home health care services, including geriatric care management by a Registered Nurse, round-the-clock care by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or full-time companion, and as-needed companionship and light housekeeping help.
Cleansing Water’s home health care nurses and aides are employees of our agency. That means you can be confident that all Cleansing Water caregivers are covered by Cleansing Water’s professional liability insurance and have passed State Criminal background checks. You will also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your caregiver(s) will be well-trained in the latest Alzheimer’s professional care practices, and are trustworthy and competent to care for you or your loved one in the security and comfort of your home.
When you retain Cleansing Water as your home health care agency, you have an entire professional staff available to you and the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if your usual caregiver has an “off day,” we can provide qualified substitute care when you need it.
For more information, or to discuss your options for home health care, call Cleansing Water, Inc. today, at 540-341-0212 — or email joan@cleansingwater.com.