Importance of Working With Long-Term Care-Givers

With more and more families having to deal with dementia and alzeheimers people are searching for the help and assistance they need to help those they love be more comfortable as they combat this increasingly broading disease.

In the next few years more and more families will be faced with having to take care of aging parents, family members and even friends (According to a 2007 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The MetLife Foundation, memory loss is second only to cancer as the nations most feared disease.)…while there is help out there for those who have dementia many times there is not help for the caregivers.  Caregivers are a rare breed, they give and give all the while still trying to keep the rest of their lives normal.

Dr. Bresky has developed a 9 point system that not only helps those who suffer from dementia but also help for caregivers.  We all know that if caregivers are not taking care of themselves, they too will fall ill.

On today’s show Dr. Bresky talks about his 9 point system and how caregivers can give more to themselves while still helping out those they love.

After delivering nearly 10,000 babies (using husband-coached natural childbirth) as a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist for over 30 years, Arnold Bresky M.D. switched his focus 12 years ago to the other end of lifes spectrum. He now devotes his full attention to memory function and considers himself a quality of life healer and preventive gerontologist. He maintains that most individuals and their families who are dealing with issues related to aging can be helped through pro-active intervention and treatment.

Recognizing the importance of assisting Alzheimers and dementia sufferers, Dr. Bresky began to practice Preventive Gerontology in 1996, and continues to work daily with his patients one-on-one. In 2005, he became known as the memory doctor at the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda, California, and then co-founded the Brain Longevity Center in Thousand Oaks, California in 2007. He currently serves as Medical Director of the Camarillo Springs Holistic Medical Center in Camarillo, California. He is also spearheading the Memory Care Network and Brain Tune-Up Center (www.mybraintuneup.com).

As an expert in the field, Dr. Bresky recognizes the important role caregivers play in society in working with seniors and individuals with disabilities, as well as long-term care workers to provide quality care.

While Alzheimers disease has reached crisis proportions in the United States, the good news is that physicians now know how to protect aging brains and to slow the progression of cognitive decline.

Dr. Bresky says planning for tomorrow starts today. The symptoms of dementia can be delayed for 3-5 years through healthy lifestyles and behavior modification. If we can slow the progression of Alzheimers by 5 years, we can cut the number of cases in half, he says. If the onset of Alzheimers were delayed by 10 years, the disease would essentially be eradicated.

According to a 2007 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The MetLife Foundation, memory loss is second only to cancer as the nations most feared disease.

Care-giving is a vital linked issue, Dr. Bresky notes. As the years pass, he says the supply of caregivers will decrease and the demand needed will dramatically increase. Both the drafted and professional caregiver have no scientific protocols to follow and therefore they burnout and become victims.

Memory is crucial for learning new material and new skills every day. We have the power to have a younger and healthier brain, but we have to continue to be a life-long learner, Dr. Bresky says. You either use it or lose it!

Dr. Bresky has created a caregiver road map for both self-care and how to care for others. Its all contained in his new book The Secret for Caregiver Success which will be released in mid-June, and available online (www.mybraintuneup.com) as well as at leading bookstores.

In his book to help combat memory loss, Dr. Bresky outlines a revolutionary new program called the Brain Tune-Up, a multi-disciplinary system to teach individuals how to continue growing intellectually, creatively, gracefully, successfully and emotionally as the years progress. My program improves the memory function to enhance a persons quality of life, he adds.

Dr. Breskys user-friendly 9-Point Brain TuneUp system is holistic and centered on preventive medicine. Simply, its therapeutic recreation for individuals and facilities to combine attention-training workbooks using art and music (Mozarts piano Concerto #21 is his favorite) and over 2,000 brain exercises. His four pillars of brain health are — physical activity, mental activity, social activity and good cardio-vascular health.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Bresky received his B.S. Degree from Brooklyn College and M.D. Degree in 1965 from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Along the way, he attended Yeshiva with his sights set on becoming a Rabbi, but instead won a scholarship which helped him enter medical school. Upon moving to Los Angeles, he began his residency as an OB/GYN at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Hollywood in 1966 and in 1970 entered private practice in the San Fernando Valley.