Conference seeks to teach clergy about Alzheimer’s disease

Young Chang

The title of the Alzheimer’s Assn. of Orange County’s next conference

-- Spiritual Care of Patients and Families Affected by Alzheimer’s

Disease: A Conference for Clergy -- might raise some eyebrows.

Why the clergy?

“We try to encourage leaders in our community to understand. The

family stops going to church. They lose their connection with their

religion,” said Linda Scheck, executive director of the organization.

To bring caregivers and people with Alzheimer’s back to their faith --

and to help keep them from straying in the first place -- the Interfaith

Outreach Committee of the Alzheimer’s Assn. will present a conference for

clergy at Vanguard University Sept. 12.

“I have seen that sometimes there’s a shame from the family,” said the

Rev. Maritza Torres, who is a care consultant at the organization. “They

don’t want to tell others about their disease, sometimes the church

members and sometimes the pastors don’t know. And of course they’re

missing church.”

The shame comes from the patients, but also from caregivers who love

their ailed ones most.

“Because the person who has Alzheimer’s can behave in a very

inappropriate manner,” Scheck said. “I might take my clothes off because

I’m hot, I might steal something from the store because I like it but I

forget that’s not right.”

Speakers at the conference will include Kent Peppard, a clinical

psychologist; Cordula Dick-Muehlke, executive director of the Adult Day

Services of Orange County; an interfaith panel; two reverends from

Huntington Beach and a rabbi from Fountain Valley.

Subjects will cover the 10 warning signs of the disease, its stages,

updated medical discoveries and how the religious congregation can help

connect families of patients to support services.

Half of the population older than 85 in Orange County suffers from the

disease, Scheck said. Patients experience brain changes that affect the

memory. Caregivers easily get overwhelmed by the extent of supervision

necessary when the person can’t be left alone.

“They don’t know how to be more effective,” Torres said. “But once we

provide the education component, then the church members can be more

assisting to a family’s needs. A lot of our families don’t receive a lot

of support.”

And for those who do seek their spiritual leader’s guidance, the

conference will help prepare these figures.

“I think it’s important that the clergy and their congregation need to

know what this disease is and how it affects our community,” Torres said.

“And we want to cover all faiths and traditions.”

FYI

WHAT: Spiritual Care of Patients and Families Affected by Alzheimer’s

Disease: A Conference for Clergy

WHEN: 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 12

WHERE: Vanguard University, 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: Call for information

CALL: (714) 283-1984