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Virtual Dementia Tour scheduled for Easton

Sunday Star - 6/12/2017

EASTON - An opportunity to experience what daily life is like for those with dementia is coming to Easton on Friday, June 16.

Three sessions of the Virtual Dementia Tour will be hosted by the Talbot County Senior Center at Brookletts Place, 400 Brookletts Ave.

Sponsored by BrightStar Care of Easton, the free, interactive experience will be offered from noon to 2 p.m., 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Each group can accommodate 12 to 15 people. Interested people should pre-register by calling 410-820-4200.

"I think it's the only way someone can have some understanding for someone (with dementia) and to be able to react to them and understand them in a way that's helpful," BrightStar Care President Robert Brueckman said. "Empathy begins with understanding."

According to Second Wind Dreams, the organization that created the experience, "the Virtual Dementia Tour simulates the experience of living with memory loss. More than 500,000 people in 17 countries have completed the Tour to better understand what life is like for people living with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia."

Brueckman, a certified senior advisor, said this is the first time his company is offering the tour to the public. He has trained service providers at assisted and independent living facilities, including Heartfields Assisted Living in Easton.

Second Wind Dreams recommends the tour for "emergency first responders, police officers, fire fighters, local businesses, community groups and houses of worship."

"The Tour enables caregivers to experience for themselves the physical and mental challenges those with dementia face, and use the experience to provide better person-centered care," the Second Wind Dreams website states.

Childlene Brooks, manager of the Talbot County Senior Center, plans to take the tour and is encouraging her staff to sign up.

"I really want to understand what these people are going through, and how we can help them by being more caring and understanding," Brooks said.

Guided by trained facilitators, participants take a pre-test and are "outfitted with patented devices that alter their senses while they try to complete common everyday tasks and exercises," according to Second Wind Dreams website.

"I've seen seasoned caregivers who just freeze," BrightStar Care Community Liaison Steve Gowe said. "(The tour) was an eye-opener for me."

Participants are directed not to talk about their experiences until they debrief with their fellow tour takers after taking a post-test.

"I've never seen anyone come out of the tour unchanged," Brueckman said.

Overachievers sometimes are reduced to helplessness, and those who couldn't understand the directions because of a hearing "impairment" become copycats.

Brueckman, 56, who grew up in Michigan, remembers his grandfather living with his family for periods of time. After suffering a stroke in his 40s, his grandfather was paralyzed for 56 years.

As a result of his own experience, Brueckman learned how valuable aging in place can be to both the family and the loved one who needs care.

Brueckman has been in the home health care business for nine years, following a 25-year business consultation career. He said he was looking for a business opportunity that would allow him to give something back to the community.

"It's very rewarding, but it's tough sometimes," he said. "It's very interesting being in this business. I've seen it all."

With offices in Easton, Salisbury and Crofton, Brueckman has 250 employees, with 160 working on the Eastern Shore. He's always looking for experienced personnel, he said, but "the resource pool is tight."

"If people are calling us, they have a problem," Brueckman said. "Maybe someone has had a fall or is getting out of the hospital. We help them assess their needs, then develop a solution and a plan implement it."

BrightStar provides hospice support, as well.

Brueckman said he values the trust clients and families place in his company.

"They need to be with a company that gives a damn," he said.

Because BrightStar Care offers skilled medical care, as well as companion and personal care, he said it's possible to "age in place" longer, even with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.

"It provides (clients) an opportunity to live at home with more dignity," he said.

"Aging is a process. We can delay (a client's entering) assisted living as long as possible with security and safety at home," he said. "People with dementia can be very good at hiding it. It can take 10 to 14 years to progress from mild to severe dementia."

The Virtual Dementia Tour motivates care givers to treat people with dementia was more patience.

"People with memory loss are not stupid. They still have feelings," Brueckman said.

To schedule tour session at the Senior Center, register by calling BrightStar Care at 410-820-4200.

For more information about Second Wind Dreams and the Virtual Dementia Tour, go to www.secondwind.org/virtualdementia- tour/

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