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The Alzheimer’s Association is here to help. |
Support |
EducationPublications |
ResourcesSafe Return® |
Helpline
The Alzheimer's Association Helpline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in 140 languages. Our staff is highly trained and knowledgeable about all aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. Call us if you have questions about:
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Alzheimer’s disease or memory loss, medications and treatment options, brain health and care options
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How the Association can help you
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Caregiving tips and respite care options
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Services available in your community and referrals
You can also call us for emotional support –– as often as you need. We know that living with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming at times. Remember, we are here for you –– all day, every day.
E-mail help
If you prefer, send us a message at info@centralcoastalz.org. We check the e-mail box daily and will respond to your inquiry in a timely manner.
Care consultation
Our professional staff is dedicated to helping people navigate through the difficult decisions and uncertainties people with Alzheimer’s and their families face at every stage of the disease. We can provide care consultation services to you by telephone, e-mail or in person. These include:
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Assessment of needs
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Assistance with planning and problem solving
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Supportive listening
Contact us for more information:
Phone: 1.800.272.3900
E-mail: info@centralcoastalz.org
Support groups
Family members and caregvers have the opportunity to share information, develop caregiving skills, and provide mutual support in a small group setting. Our trained facilitators offer groups catered specifically to adult childern caregivers, spouse caregivers, and persons with dementia, as well as general support groups.
Message boards
The Alzheimer’s Association message boards and chat rooms provide an online community for persons with Alzheimer's, caregivers and care providers. Our message boards have thousands of registered members from around the United States and thousands more who refer to the stories and information that is available 24 hours a day.
Join the Alzheimer’s Association online community.
Publications
The Alzheimer’s Association offers dozens of fact sheets and brochures. Click here for a listing.
We also maintain a variety of educational materials (brochures, videos, audiotapes and books) on topics related to Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. To learn more about our library, call us at 1.805.892.4259.
Our well known and greatly appreciated book for family caregivers is now available on our web site. Our 150 page book, What Now?: Caregiver’s quick guide and resource manual, was written by our staff as an easy to use educational and “how to” guidebook.
- What Now? with Section 8, Community Resources for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, in Adobe PDF format.
- What Now? Section 8 only, Community Resources for Ventura County, in Adobe PDF format.
Newsletter
Our biannual newsletter provides current information on Alzheimer's disease, <br>research, advocacy, events, classes and more! To receive a copy of our local newsletter, sign up below or call 805.892.4259.
Sign up for our local newsletter.
View our Summer 2009 newsletter.
View our Summer 2008 newsletter..
View our Spring 2007 newsletter.
Educational programs
We offer many educational programs that address the specific interests of the general public, individuals with the disease and their families. Our Speakers Bureau provides short presentations to community groups and organizations who want to learn more about the Alzheimer's Association and what we provide to our communities. Our workshops for family members provide more in-depth instruction on caregiving skills, planning for the future as care needs change, and how to use local resources along the way. Our trainings for professionals in the edercare industry provide for specific skill development in numerous areas of care responsibilities and tasks.
Training for Professionals
We offer educational programs for all levels of care staff in assisted living residences, homecare agencies, nursing homes and hospitals. Programs can be from 2-to-16 hours long with CEUs available. The Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Practice Recommendations and related programs are designed to improve the quality of care and improve industry standards of performance.
Professional training listings.
Multilingual information
Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders that cause dementia know no boundaries. Many individuals and families in ethnic and cultural minority groups are in need of solid information about Alzheimer’s disease and health resources.
Safe Return®
An average of six out of ten people with Alzheimer’s will wander or become lost at some point, if not repeatedly. This can be dangerous, even life threatening, and the stress can weigh heavily on family and caregivers. To help prepare for the future, and to assist in carrying the burden in the case that your loved one does become lost, the Safe Return program is in place to help reunite loved ones with the person with dementia who has wandered.
Alzheimer's Association Safe Return® is a nationwide identification, support and enrollment program that provides assistance when someone with Alzheimer's or a related dementia wanders and becomes lost. Assistance is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If an enrollee is missing, one phone call immediately activates a community support network to help reunite the lost person with his or her caregiver.
Local resources and referrals
We maintain updated information on home care, adult day programs, care coordination, assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, eldercare lawyers and transportation available in the community. Our staff and trained professionals can help assess whether a specific care provider meets the needs of an individual with Alzheimer’s.
For more information, please contact us:
By phone: 1.800.272.3900
By e-mail: info@centralcoastalz.org
Clinical trials index
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Our local universities, especially UCSB, are great places to start.
