Dementia Care and Cure Initiative hosts event to make Sarasota County a “dementia caring community” | Community

SARASOTA, FL (WWSB) – A growing number of people here on the Suncoast are suffering from dementia.

While Florida is projected to have more than 120,000 people with Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025, one local group said there’s still a lack of education when it comes to how to properly address someone with dementia. 

The Dementia Care and Cure Initiative partnered with several local organizations to host an event to make Sarasota a “dementia caring community.” 

Their goal is to educate the community on how to be sensitive, courteous and understanding of someone living with dementia on a daily basis.

“My mother has dementia, she’s got an Alzheimer’s diagnosis,” said Michael Juceum.

He knows firsthand the struggles of loving someone with dementia.

“The cruel thing about Alzheimer’s is that it robs the essence of the person and leaves the shell,” Juceum explained.

This often makes it challenging for them to complete their day to day activities. 

“Dementia doesn’t just mean memory loss,” Juceum said. “It means the loss of the ability to reason. And often times, when you’re dealing with someone with dementia, you have to meet them where they are and that’s really the critical piece.”

Juceum said this means you don’t argue with them or say things like ‘I told you this already.’ 

Those are two examples that show why the state’s Department of Elder Affairs said there is a huge need for community-wide education in this area.

“Florida has the second highest incidence rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the nation,” said Christine Didion, with the Department of Elder Affairs.

There are currently about 540,000 people living with the disease in our state and 20,000 of them are right here in Sarasota County, so organizers of the event said it’s very important for the grocery store clerks, bus operators and everyone in between to keep the following in mind.

“Being a little extra patient when you’re waiting for someone to respond to a question you might ask,” said Didion. “Or maybe you have to repeat a question a couple of times. More than usual, more than you might expect.”

It can also mean a gentle reminder that they haven’t paid for their food yet, or they gave too much money for their fare.

For more information about dementia and the initiative the Florida Department of Elder Affairs has launched, click here.