Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep. # 73 Navigating Dementia Care: Vivian Green Korner's Journey and Essential Strategies for Caregivers
Ever wondered about the real impact of dementia and Alzheimer's on families and caregivers alike? Join us as we uncover the essentials with Vivian Green Korner, a passionate dementia care specialist from Creskill, New Jersey. Vivian sheds light on the rising prevalence of dementia, distinguishing it from Alzheimer's, and explains its profound effects on brain function and overall health, ultimately leading to death. Her journey from hospital administration to becoming an advocate for caregivers highlights the indispensable need for informed decision-making and the crucial role of proper caregiver training.
We also tackle the emotional challenges of family caregiving, particularly focusing on the phenomenon of sundowning—where agitation increases in the late afternoon. Discover strategies ranging from lifestyle changes to pharmaceutical interventions that can aid caregivers. Vivian shares insights on the importance of support networks and professional help, even for those in memory care facilities. We discuss how lifestyle factors such as exercise, nutrition, and socialization might influence dementia risk, alongside Vivian's advocacy efforts with Alzheimer's New Jersey to bolster community education and support. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion geared towards empowering those navigating the intricate landscape of dementia care.
Vivian Green Korner, Certified Dementia Care Specialist
Vivian Green Korner
(201) 960-4277
vivian.korner@gmail.com
viviangreenkorner.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, Welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. I am your host, Doug Drohan, and today we are joined by Vivian Green Korner from Cresco, New Jersey. Vivian, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thanks, thanks, thanks.
Speaker 2:Nice to be here. So Vivian is a dementia care specialist which has been in the news in terms of dementia and, I guess, the for want of a better word the growth of dementia or the amount of people that we're finding out have dementia, the amount of different dementia care communities and services that are, you know, popping up all over Bergen County and elsewhere. So obviously there is a growing case, I guess, of patients with dementia. So, Vivian, you know, just tell me, is that true? Has it been growing in terms of diagnoses?
Speaker 3:It's almost explosive, and the reason is that people are living longer. They were dying because of heart attacks or other medical conditions and cancers, but we're more on top of that, and the biggest risk factor for developing a form of dementia is age.
Speaker 2:Is age okay.
Speaker 3:So what's the?
Speaker 2:difference between dementia and Alzheimer's.
Speaker 3:Dementia is a term. When somebody has dementia, they have memory loss, they have cognitive challenges. The reason why people understandably confuse dementia and Alzheimer's is that 80% of the dementia is Alzheimer's. There's also Lewy body, there is vascular dementia, there's Parkinson's with dementia, but the biggest percentage is Alzheimer's.
Speaker 2:So you said cognitive changes or challenges. So what does that entail?
Speaker 3:You know, it's more than just memory loss or having a senior moment. It really it's a brain disease. Brain cells are dying, so it affects one's memory, it affects one's ability to basically function on one's own, not making good decisions, not being able to follow up and it lands on others to take care of that person.
Speaker 2:And dementia is something that is there a cure for it?
Speaker 3:No, there is no cure. There's medication out now to slow the process down, but it won't reverse the process.
Speaker 2:So it slows it down, but it's progressive and eventually you die from it.
Speaker 3:Yes, you do, you do.
Speaker 2:Now, why do you die? Because you're forgetting things? Why would you die from just being like forgetful or not remembering somebody's name or, you know, not being able to remember where you live?
Speaker 3:Our brain is our personal computer and it helps us function, but ultimately the brain does not communicate to the organs what to do. It doesn't allow your bladder to free up or your lungs to free up of water, so you forget how to swallow, you forget how to avoid. The body isn't doing what it needs to, so ultimately, your organs are impacted and that's what you die of.
Speaker 2:Wow, I mean, I have to admit I never knew that. I always wondered why do you die from Alzheimer's or why do people die from dementia, but I didn't realize that the brain's not communicating with your organs and your organs quote unquote forget how to function. So let's go back a second. So you've explained what dementia is and Alzheimer's. So where do you come in? What does your business focus on?
Speaker 3:My business is really because the individual needs to be cared for by somebody else. Initially, you know, reminders, then it advances to supervising or monitoring and then ultimately providing full care for that person. So my work is for the caregiver, whether they're a paid caregiver, where I am offering trainings to paid caregivers, or family caregivers, where I'm offering them personal solutions to take care of that care and to help them make decisions.
Speaker 2:Okay, so obviously. And then there's a lot of things to consider, and I'm sure, when it comes to caring for a family member with dementia, it's not something you plan for, it's not something that you're probably educated on, so you're learning in the moment, and I can see why having someone to help guide them is crucial because, as I mentioned in the beginning of our show, there are a lot of dementia care or media media memory care. I'll call them facilities, communities within assisted living homes or standalone places. But how do you know this is the best place for my mom or my dad or my spouse? How do I know that they need to be in a place that I can't have somebody just care for them at home? So I would imagine there's a lot of guidance that's required.
Speaker 3:That's exactly it. You nailed it. So my work is really guidance as to how to take care of that person, help them make decisions going forward. Is it bringing in aid? Is it a facility Working out the pros and the cons? Money is an issue. It's an expensive disease to take care of, so are your finances in order, are your legal documents in order?
Speaker 3:And you know I work with a concert of professionals to help, support and guide that individual. And then there's the day-to-day care. You know my wife used to take her medications. Now she refuses to and refuses to shower and I can't get her to the program or how do I take the keys away? It's clear that you know my husband shouldn't be driving anymore. It's all as you say. Nobody went to school for this. It's really about that guidance.
Speaker 2:So what's your background like? How did you get into this field?
Speaker 3:It's a good question. I got into it because I headed an adult daycare program. I come from hospital administration and I headed an adult daycare program the one in the JCC in Tenafly and excellent for the participants. But what became clear to me was how overwhelmed and stressed their family caregivers were, or how poorly skilled the paid caregivers were, and I felt that was really what required my attention. It was truly an unmet need for that population.
Speaker 2:So you not only help guide families, but you're also training home health care professionals.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, yes, you know it's really Doug. Really it's very, very overwhelming emotionally, physically, financially, and nobody needs to be doing this on their own. We have lots of resources, especially in Bergen County, to support families, but you know it's, it's so. It's not infrequent that I got a call. I wish I knew you were a year ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean I. I have a friend whose mom is has dementia. They live in um in Westchester County. But um, it's tough. You know what she's going through. She doesn't remember anybody's name. She could be there, you know you could go in and say hi name. She could be there, you know you could go in and say hi. And then five minutes, 10 minutes later she asked her the same questions. And I'm sure it's. You know, I've never. My parents are 90 years old and they're still healthy, thank God. But you know I hear the stories of how difficult it is. My wife's grandfather had Alzheimer's and you know I could see the toll that it takes on the family. But interesting things. So you're a certified dementia care practitioner but you know, if you were hiring a senior home hair healthcare professional to come to your home, they may not be certified dementia care practitioners. Or if they're going to an assistant, you know, residential facility, they may not have certified dementia care practitioners. Or is that something where, as I mentioned, no, that's true.
Speaker 3:I mean, you know more and more facilities agencies are hiring people on their staffs to do that.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:But mine is more a 360 in terms of full service. Sometimes it's even, you know, as I work on Zoom with families across the country. It's sort of everybody on the same page, or accepting that not everybody is on the same page. They don't want to spend the money, they don't have a great history with that parent or they just are out of this area and they don't know the resources. That's where I can step in as the boots on the ground for them.
Speaker 2:So now you do a comprehensive care assessment, but is that something that doctors would typically do?
Speaker 3:Well, my assessment is more of the daily living assessment.
Speaker 2:Got it. You're not diagnosing them of having dementia or Alzheimer's Okay.
Speaker 3:That is really the neurologist to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:But the neurologist and I get a lot of referrals from neurologists. They're medicating the person but they're not offering the skills, they're not in the day-to-day how to do those tasks and how to engage and what the activities are, what the transportation options are in our community, what the facility. The neurologist isn't going to take that, but I work in concert with a team.
Speaker 2:Got it. So, yeah, I mean there's so many different things that I guess you as a family member have to be able to manage. You know, and as things progress for the worst, you know how do those, how does the communication strategy and how you engage your loved one, how does that change over time? You know, six months later, a year later, it may have to change. You know, and I guess is that what sundowning is. What does sundowning mean?
Speaker 3:Sundowning is a term. What happens at around 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, where a person becomes more agitated, and there could be various reasons for that. They could be literally tired from together all day. Or when the sun goes down they might say I want to leave, because for us who work, that's when we go home at the end of the day, so disoriented as to what it means when the sun's going down and they say I want to go home when they are in their home at that point in time. So it's not unusual and it's really a matter of what to do practically when somebody sundowns, of what to do practically when somebody sundowns, there's non-pharmaceutical approaches, which is my end, and the pharmaceutical approach is the medication, which is the doctor's end.
Speaker 3:We don't want to go to that, but if the person is so agitated, a little medication can really be helpful, and it's a long day for the caregiver. They could use a little bit of the flame going down on the agitation also.
Speaker 2:Sure, and in some cases I mean, how many of these cases are the families trying to take on the burden themselves? And at what point do they realize, okay, I need help. I can't do this Cause I'd imagine dealing with that and dealing with the. You know the challenging behaviors and you're being the son or the daughter or the or the spouse of this person and, um, I'd imagine you know some of the, some of the training that you give to professionals. As a family member, it's helpful to know some of these things of how to deal with. You know the, the progressive stages of what to deal with. You know the progressive stages of what to expect as they go down that downward spiral and, like you said, the different approaches to challenge, you know, to resolving some of those challenges. But I guess at some point you have to, you know, acquiesce to the professionals to be able to care for your loved one to be able to care for your loved one.
Speaker 3:Well, 80% of the population around our country does take care of their family member in their home. That doesn't mean by themselves, but they're not in the facility.
Speaker 2:80% are doing that 80%, with family members that have dementia at some form or another.
Speaker 3:Yes, and they can be getting assistance through somebody who's supporting them other family members, relatives or paid caregiver but then are at home and you know there's a lot of people out there that are part of the sandwich generation. You know they're raising kids and now having to take care of mom and dad at the same time. It can be very, very challenging. It's also challenging when your family member is in memory care. You know you're still seeing that decline, very sad. And I run caregiver support groups also in facilities because, again, just like I mentioned earlier on, the daycare was taking care of the participant In memory care. The facilities are taking care of one's loved one but you're still going through that grief and loss and having a hard time. So that's where I'm hired by facilities to run caregiver support groups and I volunteered through Alzheimer's New Jersey to run support groups. It's hard for families.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker 3:It's hard and we just want to keep it positive and in a supportive way, you know it's all good, all good. I mean it's tough work, but I really do. I'm very passionate about it and you know it's very rewarding for me when I'm helping people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd imagine, and you know, with the growing cases now one of the things you mentioned. It's more prevalent, maybe because we're living longer, but are we seeing any other? You know trends that might be environmental or certainly we know, with Alzheimer's and, as you know, part of your, you know your involvement with Alzheimer's Association it's you know we're learning that certain nutritional habits or maybe activity and things like that can help stave off. You know whether you know Alzheimer's. A lot of it is hereditary. But are there things that we're seeing in the medical community that they're kind of pointing the finger as to why more people are coming down with dementia? And are there things that we could do as a 50 or 60 year old who maybe has a parent with dementia, that I can look at myself and say what can I do, you know, lifestyle wise, that might help stave this off?
Speaker 3:You know it will. The bottom line is, what's good for the heart is good for the brain. So, as you take care of your heart, exercising, eating well, resting, socializing is very important, very important. So all of those lifestyles that we should all be doing eating well, exercising, using our brains, you know, really pumping up those cells is important. Whether it will stave it off that we don't know. You know, but it's, I do it you know, I'm very proactive about it, but the two highest risk factors are hereditary and aging.
Speaker 2:Okay, so tell me a little bit more about your involvement with Alzheimer's. So there's a number of different Alzheimer groups, right? Alzheimer's associations. Which one are you a part of, and tell me a little bit more about their mission statement?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm a part of Alzheimer's New Jersey, which is a spinoff. They used to be part of Alzheimer's Association.
Speaker 3:And both missions are fabulous resources for the community. They're very dedicated to the individual and their families, so both of them are excellent resources. My particular interest is being an advocate, so I'm part of the patient advocacy of Englewood Hospital to talk and highlight the needs of individuals who have dementia and caregivers to make sure the hospital is providing appropriate, needed support. I'm part of Bergen County that now has a wonderful initiative called a dementia friendly initiative in which we are going out to the various towns in Bergen County to really educate the community so that people are retained in a positive way and an inclusive way. I'm part of a new initiative called Dementia Friendly Cinema. We'll have a cinema program coming up so people are not ostracized or excluded. It's very important, you know. It's really important to give people a positive and you know so many of my caregivers talk about friends that fall out. You know good friends that just don't call or they don't know what to say, they don't know how to help, and that's why it's important for me, I believe, to do that advocacy work.
Speaker 2:My parents had a friend who had dementia, but unfortunately she was while she was in Florida. My parents in Florida, but she was was like three, four hours south of them, so they would always, they would give her a call every now and then and they they recognized her decline but they didn't really get to see her because they weren't near her. And she recently just passed away, a couple weeks ago. She was one of my um, my parents best friends and one of my childhood uh, friends, mothers, so but but I, you know, I kept hearing the stories and but my mother would ask about her, if I, if I had heard from her or heard about her. But they said every time they'd call her it was getting less and less in the times they were checking in on her.
Speaker 2:So I just kind of said how that that kind of goes, cause you don't know what to say, especially if they keep repeating themselves and you're not comfortable as the person on the other end of the line, or so I, I, I could see how you know the services and the types of topics that you address are really important. So before we go, I just wanted to go through like how somebody contact to kind of the process. So you know, if they find out their their parent has been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's, what's the next step?
Speaker 3:They can go to my website which is it's my name, which is a Vivian dot corner at gmailcom. It's V I V I a N dot K O R N E R corner with a K at gmailcom. It's V-I-V-I-A-N dot K-O-R-N-E-R corner with a K at gmailcom. They can call me at 201-960-4277.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Or they can call me at Vivian Corner at gmail Right and your website is Vivian Corner at Gmail.
Speaker 2:Right, and your website is VivianGreenCornercom. That's right and you're based in Cresco, so do they come to your office? Is that how it works?
Speaker 3:They have options. They come to my office. I can go to their home, but I have to say, with technology most people prefer to meet like you and I are doing now.
Speaker 2:Right, right. And are you meeting with the family, but not necessarily with the patient?
Speaker 3:That's right Right.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:My support is for the family. If they feel that it's beneficial, I will travel for sure. I want this to be successful for them.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And, as you know, my Zoom involves family members that can live across the country.
Speaker 2:Right, Right, yeah, I like to get as many family members or friends on that Zoom call so we can get a real sense of everybody's take and how everybody can help. Got it, got it. That's great. Well, vivian, thank you so much for being on the show. I mean, you offer a really worthwhile and much needed service and, as you say, you know you're in Bergen County but you can help families across the country and you know there's so much to learn and maybe we can follow this up in another topic If we focus in, maybe during Alzheimer's awareness. You know there's so much to learn and maybe we can follow this up in another topic if we focus in, maybe during Alzheimer's awareness. You know when there's a month that you're celebrating that or doing the Alzheimer's walk. So this was great. I really appreciate you joining us today and just bear with us as Chuck says goodbye and you and I will be right back.
Speaker 3:Okay, thanks a lot, really thanks.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen. com. That's gnpbergen. com, or call 201-298-8325.