Caregiver Resources

Our primary focus at Dementia Alliance of North Carolina is to improve the lives of caregivers who, more often than not, had no other alternative and no prior experience when stepping into their role as caregiver. Caregiving for individuals with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, is a rapidly growing sector of our older population. In North Carolina alone, an estimated 479,000 dementia caregivers are providing more than 545,000,000 hours of unpaid care each year.

That’s why DA-NC provides CARE (Comfort, Assistance, Resources and Education) to caregivers, individuals, medical professionals and partners in North Carolina. 

The following resources have been compiled to help caregivers understand dementia and provide tools and resources to help them navigate the challenging journey ahead.

Click the down arrow on each topic area to expand the section. 

Managing Life with Dementia During COVID-19

For general questions (not urgent) about 2019 Novel Coronavirus, about COVID-19 can call the COVID-19 phone line toll-free at 866-462-3821. This helpline is staffed by the North Carolina Poison Control 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is important to make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources like the CDC and NCDHHS.

For more information, please visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS’ website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, which will also include future positive COVID-19 test results in North Carolina.

Explore our new YouTube channel for great tips from Melanie Bunn, our registered nurse and dementia care professional. Mondays with Melanie covers important topics like:

Risk reduction strategies for caregivers of people living with dementia

Importance of Health Promotion

How to Handle Sick Days

Melanie also addresses topics like sleep and medication in her earlier videos. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for notification of new videos as they become available.

Below are resources from other organizations you may find helpful:

Emory University—Caregiving During COVID-19 Pandemic Info Sheet

Family Caregiver Alliance  Article/Resource Compilation Page

Generations United, Multigenerational Caregiving Resources

Now more than ever, caregivers need support from one another. We have developed a network of online virtual support groups to assist families confined to their homes during the pandemic. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form and someone from Dementia Alliance will contact you with directions on how to participate in the sessions.

Connecting With Your Loved One

Looking for ways to pass the time? Download our list of activity kits here that use every day household materials, like buttons, clothes pins, office supplies and more. The kits are easy to assemble and come with instructions on how to engage the person living with dementia.

Another great source of ideas can be found online at Minders. The website was created by a young woman named Ashley in Kernersville, NC as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award. There are loads of great activities for older adults with dementia or cognitive decline. The activities are intended to help slow the cognitive decline and keep the adults interested by using textures, colors, shapes, and familiar objects, games, and sayings.

Other Important Links

National Institutes of Health (NIH):

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication

https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/caregiving#pub

National Council on Aging:
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/medical-alert-systems/support-for-older-adults-living-alone/

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America:

http://www.alzfdn.org/

Lewy Body Dementia Association:

https://www.lbda.org/

The Association for Fronto Temporal Dementia:

https://www.theaftd.org

2020 Alzheimer’s disease Statistics:

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

World Health Organization Dementia Statistics:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia