wfn.org | Lutherans Explore Programs to Help Older Adults Stay at Home Longer

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Title: Lutherans Explore Programs to Help Older Adults Stay at Home Longer
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>August 15, 2009  

Lutherans Explore Programs to Help Older Adults Stay at Home Longer
09-188--MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Karen Koch's husband, Fred, has Alzheimer's disease
and follows a strict daily routine. While medication helps to slow the
progression of the disease for Fred, falling out of routine can mean
trouble.

"Fred can make his own breakfast and lunch, and I don't interfere.
It's important for him to do those things as part of his routine. But if
you ask him to do something out of his routine, he gets a blank look on
his face. That's how I know there's something wrong," said Koch.

Koch is her husband's full-time caregiver, and they lead a quiet
life. "I'm happy that he does not have to go to a nursing home, like so
many of our friends. But on the other hand, it's hard to realize that Fred
is my husband. We don't have conversations," she said. "Sometimes it's
hard for me to live with the same thing every day."

Karen, 71, and Fred, 72, are members of Immanuel Lutheran Church, St.
Paul, Minn., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA).

Fred was diagnosed with Alzheimer's eight years ago.

He attends "The Gathering" -- a time when older adults struggling
with memory loss gather one day a month for social interaction, meal
sharing and therapeutic activities under the leadership of volunteers from
the congregation.  Two other ELCA congregations host The Gathering
-- Augustana Lutheran Church and Salem Lutheran Church, both in St. Paul.

"Fred thoroughly enjoys The Gathering," Koch said. Since the
progression of Alzheimer's is somewhat slower for Fred, he feels like he
can be a caregiver to others there, she said.

The time Fred spends at The Gathering is an opportunity for Karen to
have respite from her caregiving responsibilities. "I don't have to worry
about where he's at, and it gives me a chance to run errands and have a
little time to myself."

Programs like The Gathering "change the quality of life" for people,
from the participant and caregiver who benefit from the program to
volunteers and staff that make it all happen, said Carolyn Klaver, RN,
director of The Gathering at Lyngblomsten, St. Paul.

The Gathering was developed by Lyngblomsten -- one of 300 Lutheran
social service organizations that participate in Lutheran Services in
America (LSA). LSA serves more than 6 million people annually in the
United States and Caribbean.

The Gathering started in 2000 because there was a need to give
respite to caregivers, Klaver said. Since then the State of Minnesota has
honored Lyngblomsten for its innovative way of helping to meet the needs
of the elderly.

The Gathering takes place in a Lutheran congregation because the
church provides a more comfortable space than some institution, said
Klaver. The Gathering also relies on the work of volunteers from the
congregation to help run the program.

"The volunteers are phenomenal. Some are professionals -- lawyers,
engineers, retired doctors, nurses, social workers and physical therapists
-- who want to give back. Many of them are inspired to volunteer because
they have been exposed to someone with memory loss or had once served as
caregiver themselves," said Klaver.

Diana Burrow is a volunteer at Lyngblomsten. "I have a passion for
working with seniors. I've been in the corporate world with a
communication and management background, but I wanted to do something
where I could give back," she said.

Ralph Myhrman is also a volunteer at Lyngblomsten. "I lost a brother
to Lou Gehrig's disease, and I saw the wear and tear on his wife who cared
for him. When he passed away, I knew of the hardship that my sister-in-law
went through. Anything I can do to make things easier for the caregiver, I
want to do. That's why I volunteer." Myhrman has been retired for 22
years and has been volunteering at Lyngblomsten for the past four years.

Lutherans examine programs to help people stay in their homes longer

For more than a year LSA has been examining social service programs
and models designed to help people live in their homes longer, with the
right kind of support, as people age.

LSA's Aging in Community Initiative is funded in part by Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans -- a Minneapolis-based not-for-profit financial
services organization serving members of the ELCA and other Lutheran
church bodies.

Under its "Aging in Community Initiative," LSA is testing programs to
help Lutheran agencies start programs like The Gathering, which has been
replicated in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"The Gathering is meant to be a place for the individual with early-
to mid-stage memory loss to have a safe and social experience, respite for
the caregiver, and it gives volunteers the opportunity to serve their
neighbors," said Kim Biletz, RN, assistant director of The Gathering
iberty at Home, Ambler, Pa.  Liberty works with Reformation Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Media, Pa., to host The Gathering. Reformation is a
congregation of the ELCA.

Biletz said participants in the program receive individual attention
and have an opportunity to socialize and participate in activities that
strengthen large and small motor skills -- activities they may not be
exposed to at home.

LSA has identified other models and programs designed to meet the
need for effective, low-cost ways to help people remain in their homes
longer and provide respite for caregivers.

Models include "Caring Together" -- a plan that invites
congregational volunteers to visit homes of aging individuals for
companionship, social interaction and practical support while caregivers
have some respite; "Caregiver University" -- a six-module curriculum that
prepares people for the caregiver role; "Lutheran Caring Community" -- an
individual-centered model that links volunteers with service opportunities
and connects those receiving services with opportunities to serve others;
and "Care Management Solutions Volunteer Care Team Program" --
congregational volunteers partner with professional social work staff from
Lutheran social ministry organizations to provide enhanced care management.

LSA is currently "examining each of these emerging, promising models,
with an eye toward scaling them across the broader Lutheran social
ministry system in order to strengthen the system's collective capacity to
meet the critical need for effective, low-cost ways to help people remain
in their homes and communities as they age," said Cynthia Osborne, LSA
vice president of strategic initiatives and program development, Baltimore.
- - -

Information about LSA's Aging in Community Initiative is at
http://www.lutheranservices.org/aging_in_community_initiative on the Web.

For information contact:

John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog