Resources 4f
Alzheimer’s and other Dementia Resources
Here are several resources that offer comprehensive information and support services for Alzheimer’s caregivers and their families
Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR)
toll-free 1-800-438-4380
www.nia.nih.gov (Click on Alzheimer’s)
A service of the National Institute on Aging part of National Institutes of Health, the center is the federal government’s primary agency supporting and conducting Alzheimer’s disease research. The center provides a broad range of information: diagnosing Alzheimer’s, treating symptoms, caring for the person with the disease, fining long-term care, meeting the needs of caregivers, and ways to take part in Alzheimer’s research. The center staff can refer you to local and national resources and the Publications section offers a comprehensive, downloadable booklet: Caring for a Person with Alzheimer's Disease: Your Easy-to-Use Guide from the National Institute on Aging
Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation (LIAF)
516-767-6856
(A subsidiary of the national Alzheimer’s Foundation of America)
LIAF offers programs for families and individuals with Alzheimer’s patients to help at each stage of the disease. Programs include structured socialization and mental stimulation activities, physical therapy, medical massage and brain fitness workshops for adults who want to enhance and maintain cognitive functions. Weekly support groups for caregivers are facilitated by professional social workers. The Alzheimer’s Companion Program offers two hours of in-home respite care every other week to Alzheimer’s families in Nassau County and Queens. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org) has include toll-free hotline (1-866-232-8484) and also offers free booklets and guides (click on Publications) and online resources.
Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center
631-589-5100
Satellite office: 855-732-4500 (toll-free)
This nonprofit group works with family members, health care professionals and researchers to help provide quality care and support to people affected by Alzheimer’s. The center’s resource guide offers comprehensive lists of many providers, services and programs, including:
physicians and geriatric care services; support groups for Alzheimer’s patient caregivers in both Nassau and Suffolk counties; home companion agencies; home health care agencies; social and medical model day care programs; assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities with dementia units; respite programs for caregivers and hospice services. Also offers seminar series across Long Island. To find resources on the center’s website, click Let Us Help You.
Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center of Long Island
631-632-3160
http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/ (click Departments, then Psychiatry, and Patient Care)
A program of the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University Hospital, the center is one of is part of an interactive network of nine publicly-funded centers located throughout New York State. It serves as a resource for families and caregivers, providing diagnosis, expert assistance, comprehensive care plans, and up-to-date research and information about Alzheimer’s Disease. It also provides weekly support groups for families, held concurrently with separate groups for patients with Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s Association (Long Island Chapter)
631-629-6950
Help Line: 800-272-3900
This national organization has a Long Island chapter and offers a full range of helpful information, including many downloadable publications, for caregivers and families on its website and a “Caregiver Stress Test” and a locator of support groups.
U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Toll-free 1-855-260-3274
Through the Caregiver Support Program, local Caregiver Support Coordinators can
provide a full range of VA health care services for veterans with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Depending on a Veteran’s needs, services may include home based primary care, homemaker and home health aide, respite care, adult day health care, outpatient clinic, inpatient hospital, nursing home, palliative care, or hospice care.
Caring.com
This national website offers an extensive array of resources for caregivers, including a section on Alzheimer’s that features a directory of memory care facilities by state and county, as well as many articles and “Steps & Stages,” a free customizable resource guide for caregivers.