Lighting the building teal for Alzheimer’s

The more that is discussed, in the long term, it’s better for the resident and the families.”

Mary Vouloukos, Reminiscence coordinator at Sunrise of East Meadow

In honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in November, Sunrise Senior Living of East Meadow will join in a worldwide effort to raise awareness for the disease by lighting the building teal on Thursday.

More than 800 landmarks in the 50 states and 13 other countries have agreed to participate in lighting their respective buildings with the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s awareness color.

“It’s a disease where it affects not only the individual who’s suffering from it and diagnosed with it, but the family, friends, caregivers,” said Thomas Harty, the executive director of Sunrise of West Babylon who’s been helping out with Sunrise of East Meadow before the new executive director starts. “The disease does not define a person. You’re able to personalize care for somebody and show that people are not alone and that we can still have meaningful interactions and quality of life for our residents and folks who have been diagnosed with it, that it does not just mean that they’re defined by that.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that impacts memory, thinking, and language skills, and the ability to carry out simple tasks, according the AFA’s website. It’s the most common cause of dementia, which is not a disease, but instead the term that is used to describe symptoms like memory loss or loss of judgment.

More than 6.2 million Americans are currently living with the disease.

There are three stages of Alzheimer’s — early, middle, and late — and with each one the symptoms get more severe. Some signs and symptoms include, memory loss, confusion about time and place, struggling to complete familiar tasks, trouble finding appropriate words, difficulty in judging situations, and mood and personality changes.

AFA’s mission is to provide support, services and education to those affected by Alzheimer’s, whether they have the disease, are a caregiver or know someone that has it. The organization, founded in 2002, also raises money to fund research for better treatment and a cure.

It’s important to remember that each person, regardless of their stage of Alzheimer’s, has their own personality and way about them, Mary Vouloukos, the reminiscence coordinator at Sunrise of East Meadow, said, adding that it helps out everyone involved when awareness is brought to Alzheimer’s.

“The more that is discussed, researched, supported, in the long term, it’s better for the resident and the families,” Vouloukos said. “I had families that would come in where residents would scream and curse at them to get out and that’s hard not to take to heart, and I have to tell them not to take it personally and to just try to go along with it and not correct them.

“The more awareness, the better,” she added.

Some people may be nervous to bring their loved ones to a place such as Sunrise, but Vouloukos said there’s not much to worry about.

“There’s a lot of longevity in this building and it’s more of a family atmosphere,” she said. “I say to them that nothing is like it was at home, meaning their past, but their future is here and to have trust in us.”

Vouloukos said having good relationship with the families is an important part because everyone needs to feel comfortable with the new living arrangements.

“It’s great when they see that we really care about their loved ones,” she said. “We sit one-on-one with them and they get to see the warm atmosphere.”

She said that each residents’s file is looked at and little tidbits of their lives are used for one-on-one time.

“We had one resident who was a professional ballerina and what one of my enrichment managers did was sit with her and find ballerina documentaries and shows,” she said. “From their profile and knowing the residents, we capture a picture of them, their lives, and we get a lot of one-on-one activities for each individual resident.”

Charles Fuschillo Jr., AFA’s president and CEO believes a big difference can be made for Alzheimer’s if everyone goes teal on Nov. 3. “Every person and place that participates in this global initiative is making a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and the more that join, the more awareness we will raise about Alzheimer’s.”