1) Paul Contris discusses memory care and the differences between dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Memory care facilities provide services for those experiencing memory loss conditions like dementia or Alzheimer's. 2) Key signs of dementia or Alzheimer's include short-term memory issues and difficulty remembering everyday tasks, as well as increased memory lapses of things they did not previously forget. Alzheimer's specifically involves plaque buildup in the brain affecting memory and perception. 3) When supporting loved ones, it is important to be patient, understand memory issues are not deliberate, and consider memory care facilities if safety becomes a concern due to inability to live independently. Facilities provide expertise to address behaviors and keep residents engaged through programming.

1. Katherine: We're beingjoinedbyMr. Welcovhimself,Mr.Paul Contris.We've beentalkingwith
himoverthe past several monthsaboutthingsthatwe needtothinkaboutwhenit
comesto long- or short-termcare,skillednursing,whenwe have toevenplan for
ourselves,whenwe have thatconversation.Today,thistopicisnearand dearto my
heartbecause I have friendsinmyage bracketthat are takingcare of parentsthat are
not necessarilyold.They're older,butmaybe they're losingtheirmemoryabit.Iwanted
to knowa little bitaboutsome of the servicesthatWelcovoffers.Paul,welcomebackto
ThisNeedsToBe Said.
Paul: Thank you,Katherine.How are youtoday?
Katherine: I'm good.I want to jumprightintothis.What ismemorycare?
Paul: Memorycare is kindof the general termthat referstofacilitiesthatprovide servicesfor
people thatare experiencingdementiaoreitherearly-onsetAlzheimer'sorfull-blown
Alzheimer's.
Katherine: Um-hmm.What are some of the thingsthat we couldlookforin our lovedonesthat
wouldgive ussigns?The reasonI'm askingthisquestion,Paul,isbecause one of my
friends,thisissomethingtheydidn'tsee inhermomfora longtime.Theyjustcouldn't
figure outwhatwas goingon withher.Because they're notmedical professionalsor
workin the industry,theydidn'tknow whattopickup on.
Paul: Yeah.I thinkeverybodyhasissueswithmemorysometimes.It'samatterof ...
Katherine: Of course.
Paul: ...your focus,whatyou've got goingonat the time.It'seasyto forgetcertaindetails,
that type of thing.I thinkitbecomesmore obviouswhenthere isaconditionof,say,
Alzheimer'sordementia.Theirabilitytoremembershortterm, particularlyshort-term
memoryiswhat'saffected.They'll be able toremembervividlyscenesfromfortyyears
earlier,buttheycan't rememberwheretheyputtheirkeysorjustthe kindof everyday
thingsthat we take for grantedtheystarthavingissueswith.Ithink, asyou're dealing
withyourparentsor evenyourspouse,it'skindof a markedincrease inthose memory
lapsesthatyouhave to keepan eye outfor,thingsthat theyweren'tforgettingbefore.
Katherine: Nowit's becomingahabit.
Paul: Yeah,kindof a newlevel of challengesthatthey're facing,Iguess.
Katherine: NowAlzheimer'sanddementia,because Idon'tknow ...I can reada dictionary
definitionof it.Whatwouldyousayare the keydifferencesbetweenthese twomemory
losses?
Paul: It's kindof semantics.Ithinkinmanycases dementiaisjustreferringtopeople inearly-
stage Alzheimer's.

2. Paul Contris April 2016 interview Page 2 of 3
Katherine: Okay.
Paul: It's a lesssevere formof memoryissuesandsome people maybe they'lldevelopsome
signsof dementiamuchlaterinlife andthey,forwhateverhealthreasonpassaway
before theyreallygettothatfull-blownAlzheimer'sstage.Aswe age,a lotof our
abilities,physical abilitiesandcognitive abilitiesdeteriorate slowlyandsoyoumay not
have Alzheimer'sbutokay,youcan't run five milesadaylike youusedtoeitherand
your memoryisn'tquite assharp.Your cognitive abilitiesaren'tquite assharpas they
usedto be.That can kindof be referredtoas dementia.
Alzheimer'sreallyisachemical probleminthe brain withthe plaque buildupinthe brain
that interfereswithyourneural transmittersandcanaffectnot onlyyourmemorybut
justyour abilitytoperceive what'sgoingonaroundyou.Youhear those heartbreaking
storiesof people whodon'tevenremembertheirson.Theydon'tevenknow it'stheir
son or theirdaughter.
Katherine: Oh,okay.
Paul: It's reallyaninsidious,heartbreakingdisease.There'salotof researchrightnow,a lot of
promisingresearchsohopefullyinthe nottoodistantfuture they'll have abreakthrough
but inthe meantime it'sjustkindof a realityandit'sa lotmore acute now that people
are livinglonger.It'sbecomingamore apparentproblem.
Katherine: Withthat beingsaid,whatare some wayswe can supportour lovedones thatare
indeed...We've heardwhatyousaidand we say,"Wait a minute.Thismaybe
somethingwe needtopayattentionto.Iam noticingthis."Whatare some wayswe can
supportour lovedones?
Paul: I guessnumberone isjustbeingpatientandunderstandingandnotgettingfrustratedor
upsetif theyforgetsomethingordosomethingthattheydidn'tusedtodo.It's not
somethingthey're doingdeliberatelyprobably.It'sbecause they're havinganissue with
the agingprocess.Obviouslyif itgetstoa pointwhere they're notreallyable tolive
independentlyinasafe manner,thenyoureallyneedtostartlookingatthe possibility
of movingthemintosome type of independentlivingorassistedlivingthathasmemory
care services.That'sthe trickypart. Atwhat pointdoyou do that?That's what I think
everybody...If youtalkto people ...
Katherine: emotional.
Paul: Yeah,that's the toughestpart isat what pointdoyou move themtothat new setting
and at whatpointare theyreadyto go to that new setting.
Katherine: Um-hmm.My last questionforyou.Once we getto the pointthat we sayokay,it is time
to put themintoa facilityorgetsome supportfromthe medical industry,whatare
some thingsthatwe can expectfromthe memorycare program, the servicesthatare
offered?

3. Paul Contris April 2016 interview Page 3 of 3
Paul: The nice thingabout doingthatis that you're goingto be puttingthemintothe handsof
people withthe expertise todeal withit.Ithinkbyand large the general public,mostof
us,we don'thave that expertiseandit'sveryfrustrating.Itcan be veryupsettingtrying
to knowhowto deal withthat kindof behavior.Itcan be a veryunburdeningprocessto
actuallyhave themwiththe people whoknow how tohandle those behaviors.They
have manyprogrammaticelements,thingstheycandoto keepthose people engage
and to make sure they're safe.
By and large the people thatperformthose services,they're specialpeople.Ittakesa
personwitha special kindof caringand a real bigheart.They're doingit because it's
somethingthattheylove todo.You shouldexpectthatlevelof care and commitment.
Obviouslyif you're notgettingit,thenmaybe they're notinthe rightsetting.That's
whatyou shouldexpectispeoplewhoknow how tohandle those particularbehaviors
and that reallyhave the bestinterestsof yourlovedone atheart.
Katherine: Um-hmm.Thisis all reallygood.Again,the topicisnearanddear to my heartbecause I
listentothe strugglesof myfriendandjustgivingsupport.Evenother friendsthathave
parentsthat have passedawaywhohad dementiaorAlzheimer'sandthe painthat they
saw whentheysee thislovedone losingthemselvesasyoudescribe it.They're doing
thingsthat theyweren'tdoingbefore,forgettingthingstheydidn't forgetbefore.
Thisis reallygood,useful informationandit'ssupportoutthere tohelpyouwhenyou
don't understandandespeciallywhenyou're soemotionalinvolved.Yourlovedone you
don't wantthe stressof thembeinginthe wronghands.Thankyou forlettingusknow
whatto expectandthe care.If we're notwiththe right care providerwe needtoswitch
to someone like yourself,Welcov.Paul,leteveryone knowhow togetin touchwithyou
or your organizationoutsideof ThisNeedsToBe Said.
Paul: All the informationyouneedisatyourfingertipsonthe worldwide web.It's
www.welcov.com.
Katherine: Thank youso much,Paul,and until nexttime.
Paul: Thank you,Katherine.