By Jude Roberts
As a caregiver for a loved
one with Alzheimer’s, the difficulties of getting their
attention and having them understand you and the professional
members of the caregiving team can be a very real challenge.
Along with these issues, what if there was also a communication
gap caused not only by the disease, but by a language barrier?
What if your loved one speaks another language other than
English? You might be able to understand them, but other members
on the caregiving team may not, and may not be able to
effectively communicate back to them. Because of this, an
experience with a doctor or professional caregiver can be very
scary and frustrating for a loved one. With the foresight
and understanding that can only come from years of experience,
research, and compassion, the Alzheimer’s Association recognized
the ever-emerging need for a translation service available to
family caregivers, their loved ones, and the professional
members of the caregiving team.
Cathy Sewell, Director of
Client Services at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Headquarters in
Chicago, says the “language line” was a natural progression
created from a market study done in 1999. Originally, the study
was comprised of caregiver feedback concerning the need for a
“24-7” Contact Center, available for both family and
professional caregivers throughout the country. Cathy says the
translation service came about “because of the Alzheimer’s
Association’s diversity initiative to be culturally competent,
reaching out to the under-serviced throughout the country.” As
part of the regular staff at the “24-7” Contact Center, there
are care consultants who act as translators for Chinese,
Vietnamese, and Spanish caregivers, but the service doesn’t stop
there. Since the inception of the national “24-7” Contact Center
2-1/2 years ago, and with 150 different languages spoken
throughout the country aside from English, Cathy went about the
daunting task of creating an even more extensive translation
service for family and professional caregivers. One of the
requirements the Alzheimer’s Association had was to find a
language service with the ability to translate the word
“dementia” with compassion, and that this word needn’t mean
“crazy” in any language.
The Alzheimer’s Association
chose NetworkOmni Multilingual Communication,as their partner.
NetworkOmni is a global language solutions company with
headquarters in California. NetworkOmni immediately made a great
impression on the Alzheimer’s Association.
“They weren’t only easy to work with, but they took a true
interest in learning all about Alzheimer’s disease, wanting to
know how they could help us better serve caregivers and the
Alzheimer’s Community,” says Cathy, “and their personnel took
the time and effort to inform their interpretive staff of all
our concerns regarding the need for a compassionate translation
service, along with the need for extreme sensitivity when
dealing with caregivers and their loved ones.” The service is
free to family and professional caregivers, with the Alzheimer’s
Association absorbing the entire cost. According to Cathy, “The
Alzheimer’s Association was able to work out a monthly, fixed,
flat-fee. We also pay for anything over and above the usual,
monthly rate.”
The “language line” works
quite simply by organizing a three-way, conference call between
the family or professional caregiver, a care consultant from the
Alzheimer’s Association, and an interpreter from NetworkOmni. A
caregiver calls the national Contact Center, speaks with a care
consultant and requests the translation service, stating the
specific language that is needed. The care consultant then calls
NetworkOmni, with the caregiver still on the line, making sure
that everyone is connected to one another.
One story that illustrates
the service concerns Alex Karski and his 86 year-old,
Polish-speaking mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
disease just last year. For the past 20 years, she’s enjoyed the
independence of living alone in Chicago, and still wants to
maintain her routine. In order for her to remain independent for
as long as possible, her son hired a Polish-speaking caregiver
to aide his mother with the daily tasks of bathing, dressing,
food preparation, and keeping up with medications. However,
since the caregiver had no formal training in Alzheimer’s or
dementia care, she found the man’s mother more and more
difficult to work with, and she was unsure of how to handle the
increasing demands that the disease was placing upon her. Alex
noticed that the caregiver was becoming frustrated and
short-tempered when dealing with his mother. He called the
Alzheimer’s Association and a care consultant contacted
NetworkOmni and conferenced-in a Polish-speaking interpreter.
Between the care consultant and the interpreter, they were able
to educate the caregiver on the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,
giving her several suggestions and communication tips. It was
exactly what the caregiver needed, and since knowing that she
has a place to turn to at all times, it has made all the
difference in her ability to better care for and understand
someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
Even with this wonderful
service available, many caregivers do not realize that the
“24-7” Contact Center exists, as well as offering many other
important programs for caregivers. During normal, weekday
working hours, when someone calls the Alzheimer’s Association,
the system automatically transfers them directly to the closest,
local chapter. After hours and on weekends, when the national
800 number is contacted, headquarters in Chicago answers the
call on behalf of the local chapters. There’s always someone
accessible for caregivers to speak with, and the “language line”
is available to them at all times. So far, there are 81 chapters
from around the country who have partnered with the national
office to be a part of the “24-7” Contact Center, and the number
is expected to continue growing. With over 500 calls coming in
on a daily basis, the “24-7” Contact Center is able to, as Cathy
Sewell puts it, “empower caregivers to do what they need to do,
like attend support groups, receive respite care, obtain
important information regarding the disease, or receive a
listening ear when they so desperately need one.”
Another service that has
been a huge success and has had a great impact for the
Alzheimer’s Association is the “Safe Return” program. Started 10
years ago, the “Safe Return” program is designed to help
caregivers locate missing loved ones who have wandered off.. “At
least 60% of all people with Alzheimer’s will wander at some
point,” says Cathy, “with wandering occurring even in the early
stages of Alzheimer’s.” When someone has been identified as
having Alzheimer’s, their caregivers can have them enrolled in
the national “Safe Return” program, which builds a composite for
law enforcement agencies and authorities, enabling them to gain
valuable information when searching for a missing loved one. The
program provides loved ones with an ID bracelet which states
that the person is part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Safe
Return” program. The bracelet provides a telephone number that
can be contacted immediately.
The program also distributes
important information to local law enforcement agencies in the
area where a loved one may be reported as missing, providing
them with a photograph along with important medical and contact
information. The ID bracelets are available in five different
languages. There are about 108,000 loved ones registered with
the “Safe Return” program, and to date, caregivers have been
helped in successfully bringing home 8,000 wandering loved ones.
The Alzheimer’s Association
has so much to offer both family and professional caregivers,
and yet Cathy Sewell is concerned that many do not realize
what’s available to them every day, around the clock, and at no
cost. “The Alzheimer’s Association has a dual mission ... care
and research ... we care about both deeply.” says Cathy, “We
have some of the lowest administrative costs around, with only
20% of our funding being spent in this area, while 80% of the
money we receive is spent on research to find a cure and on the
different programs and services we offer caregivers. It’s a
sincere privilege to be able to serve the families that need
us.”
For more information on how
to contact a local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in
your area, or to find out more about the “language line”
translation service, the “24-7” Contact Center, the “Safe
Return” program, or other services available to caregivers, call
800-272-3900.
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