Over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, many of them being cared for by family members and friends. In Pennsylvania, there are more than 671,000 Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers, more than half of them caring for parents.
The emotional stress of caregiving is high, and caregivers need support and resources to help them provide for those they love. With that in mind, we recently created Memory Care Bags for Alzheimer’s patients.
Memory Care Bags give caregivers tools to help Alzheimer’s patients work on cognitive and memory skills. Among other things, the bags include puzzles, games, books, and “Coach Broyle’s Playbook for Alzheimer’s Caregivers.” Shown below are some of the items included in the bags:
One activity caregivers and patients can engage in is to use the pictures included to create stories that take place here and now. “What do you think is happening in this picture?” a caregiver can ask.
Memory Care Bags are free to borrow for 21 days with a Bucks County Free Library card.
Thanks to the caregiver support groups who provided valuable guidance as we created the bags and to the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging for funding the project.
