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Erika Hoffman, Staff Writer
The LIGHT Program uses the
Geriatric Depression Scale to screen patients
and start a dialogue with them about their
feelings. Fifteen questions comprise the survey.
They inquire about the person’s energy level,
satisfaction with life, and coping mechanisms
for disappointments.
If a senior tests positive for depression, that
patient can receive psychotherapy in the same
physician’s office and also schedule follow-up
screenings in the same office at three months, six
months, and a year. Ms. Veronica Poklemba
(APRN,CS-P) points out that elderly patients don’t
react well to the idea of a psychiatrist’s office.
Treating them for their depression where they
receive their primary care is more likely to be
successful. Anybody identified as depressed is
offered treatment and if transportation to a clinic
is an issue, a therapist can go into the home of the
referred patient. Project LIGHT is funded by a
grant, but Ms. Poklemba feels that a family doctor
could rent office space to a mental health
specialist just as some rent out office space to
cardiologists, dermatologists or other specialists.
The toolkit supplied by Project LIGHT, containing
stickers, posters, brochures, CD’s, and lists of
mental health providers, benefits the physician as
well as the patient. Many physicians ask their own
questions regarding depression and don’t need to
pull out the supplied list. They have appropriate
questions. The goal is: screening of the elderly for
depression. The primary care doctor is not expected
to treat the patient for his/her depression, but the
idea is that he can ID the person’s problem easily
and then refer the patient for more in-depth
screening. Because Ms. Poklemba is tied into the
practice, her paperwork goes back to the primary
care doctor, and he can read her conclusions which
she leaves in the patient’s medical record. She,
too, has an accurate record of the patient’s health
problems and doesn’t need to rely solely on what the
senior may or may not tell her about physical
problems.“I make sure the doctor knows if I find
something,” she states.
Ms. Poklemba screens the patient verbally. For
example, a question reads: “Has there been any
change in your usual activities?”She knows to add
“in the last month.” If not, elderly patients might
relate changes in the last ten years! Veronica
phrases it in a way that makes sense to the elderly
person. In addition, she studies their non-verbal
clues, such as a confused expression. Folks in the
beginning stages of dementia are with it enough to
know if they are experiencing depression, and
therapy will help them. They can sit and discuss
their worries. However, if suffering from severe
dementia, the senior cannot benefit from therapy,
but sometimes taking anti-depressants is helpful.
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