Episode 63 Laura Gauthier - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Laura Gauthier, Program Director at The Bridge Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:

 

0:28 1. Laura, you are the Program Director at The Bridge Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center, a local non-profit organization helping families in Northwest Louisiana travel the bumpy road of Alzheimer’s and dementia. You are filling a critical need in our community.

 

Let’s start here today. For the lay people like me, can you explain the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia?

 

1:16 2. At The Bridge, you provide resources, education and support services for our residents living with dementia. Can you talk about some of the different programs and services you provide at The Bridge?

 

3:07 3. At the Bridge, you prioritize and serve our caregivers. I read a statistic that about 40% to 50% of caregivers end up passing away before the person they’re caring for, due to not prioritizing their own health and wellbeing.

 

Can you talk about some of the different ways you support our caregivers?

 

5:55 4. Currently in Louisiana, there are 92,000 people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and that number will increase by 20% in the next two years.

 

Why are more and more people being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? What are some of the main contributors?

 

7:56 5. Are there things people can do potentially to help prevent getting dementia or Alzheimer’s?

 

9:08 6. As we get older, we naturally become more forgetful and have a more difficult time recalling information. As our loved ones watch our behavior or as we monitor ourselves, how are some ways to tell the difference between the natural course of aging and early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s?