New Medicare project helps Arizona families care for loved ones with dementia

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Living with dementia isn't easy. Caring for someone with dementia can sometimes feel even harder, financially and emotionally.

A new federal initiative can now help caregivers with Medicare benefits cover respite care for those with Alzheimer's disease.

“We don't have a cure for Alzheimer's and dementia" registered nurse Ashley Zachariah said. "All we can do is just help the symptoms.

Genworth reports that, on average, it can cost between $4,000 - $11,000 a month to offer respite care in Tucson.

Maria Staubs

Some family members end up feeling the burden of taking on the unpaid job of looking after an older loved one.

“All these caregivers that have unpaid hours," Senior Helpers community liaison Mark Goldstein said. "They're suffering from some illnesses themselves: frustration, depression."

The new federal GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience) initiative launched July 1. This program will offer paid respite care to Medicare beneficiaries.

If someone has Medicare Part B and cares for someone with dementia or an Alzheimer's diagnosis, Goldstein said care service companies like his can help families the process. "(You can) get up to 80 hours of in home respite, approved and paid for by Medicare," Zachariah, a registered nurse at Senior Helpers, said.

The funding provides relief for the 292,000 caregivers in Arizona. The state is seeing the fastest growth of people with Alzheimer's diagnoses, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Senior Helpers client Greg Levitt has an in-home caregiver visit him three times a week. Should he one day have to care for his brother, he said he would reach out to apply for this new benefit.
“He's having a lot of issues with memory and to be honest, there have been times when I just have to watch myself because it's so frustrating,” Levitt said.

Maria Staubs

It's not uncommon to feel frustrated when caring for a loved one with memory issues. Goldstein said trained caregivers can specifically respond to each stage a patient or client goes through.

"This really helps family members also to understand what stage they're in and what are the strategies and that you can use to work with your family member or the one that's afflicted with dementia to bring about the most positive solution or experience for them," Goldstein said.

Zachariah said trained nurses can also help slow the progression of dementia by offering services like reminiscent therapy and brain games to their patients.

"Different things to kind of get their mind working in a way that it doesn't typically in a regular day," Zachariah said.

Goldstein said Senior Helpers is sponsoring the Walk To End Alzheimer's on October 26 at Reid park to raise money for Alzheimer's research.