SENIOR CARE

Westmont Chamber joins in supporting senior safety

As the nation’s population ages, municipalities and organizations are taking a proactive approach to maintain the safety of seniors. In addition to the Village of Westmont and its departments and organizations earning Dementiafriendly certification in 2021, the Westmont Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau took part in the program, as well. “It’s relatively new and only a handful of cities in the state of Illinois have received it so far,” says Chamber Executive Director Larry Forssberg. “That means we’ve been doing training for the police and fire departments, the business community, and others in the community on how to best understand and interact and support those with dementia. We’re moving it out further into the business community as we go forward.”

When a first responder engages with someone with dementia, often that person can act agitated or upset. “Police and Fire are trained in those issues,” says Forssberg. “Our first responders went through a series of training programs and now our business

community is in the process of going through that. It’s designed for folks who interact with customers.” Forssberg points out restaurants as an example, where servers and wait staff engage with customers constantly. “If someone can’t understand a menu or their listening capabilities may not be the best, someone may need to repeat something several times. A variety of interactions can become issues if dementia is not recognized quickly. “We have a lot of seniors in our community, and I don’t think a lot of communities across the country had given much thought to it in the past,” says Forssberg, adding that when the program was presented to the village, community leaders jumped on board to do what was necessary to qualify as a dementia-friendly community. Retail can be another situation where a person with dementia may make a large or inappropriate purchase if an employee has not been trained to identify symptoms of dementia. “There are a lot of ways where it comes into play,” says Forssberg. Through the program, employees learn the proper way to deal with someone who may be agitated or not fully engaged or behaving in some unusual way. It’s just making sure we’re not having an initial reaction that’s not positive where they feel someone is being rude or obnoxious,” says Forssberg. The Dementia Friendly Westmont program offers a resource guide to the community that includes listings for dementia caregiver support groups, adult day services, dementia education and activity ideas, emergency services and general resources. “We want people to know if situations and challenges arise, there are places they can look to for help,” says Forssberg. The Dementia Friendly Westmont mission: To raise awareness, reduce stigma, provide resources, and increase support for those living with dementia through education and coordination of resources. Independent Living Assisted Living

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