Diagnosis: dementia - what to do?

The diagnosis of dementia comes as a shock to many. The victims and their relatives are under great strain. But there are many offers of assistance.

We are happy to offer you advice on living with dementia diagnosis, on various care options and on specialised consulting and support services for people with dementia and their relatives.

Dementia is expressed in many ways

Dementia is one of the most common diseases amongst elderly people. It should be noted that dementia is an umbrella term for multiple illnesses involving limited mental function, such as perception, thinking and memory. The most common form is Alzheimer’s.

Elderly woman takes picture with a camera.
© Tiago Muraro

At home, in a shared flat community or in a nursing home 

People with dementia have a hard time coping with everyday life. There are many simple ways of making life in your own home easier: always leaving your comb in the same visible location, for example. Maybe a daycare facility will suit you or your loved one? This option allows people with dementia to spend the day safely and independently. Often, a flat-sharing community is the appropriate residential form for people with dementia or, in later phases, maybe a specialised nursing home.

Working together with dementia

Supporting a loved one through the stages of dementia is a difficult task. How to deal with the dementia of your father? And who should make decisions for him when he can no longer do so himself? Ask us about ways to prepare with a health care proxy, an advance healthcare directive or a living will. We provide family members who care for people with dementia with emotional and practical support and assist them with questions regarding health insurance benefits.

3 – The Challenge of Dementia

Dementia is the generic term for illnesses that are accompanied by a loss of mental functions such as thinking, remembering, orientation and making links between the content of different thoughts. It is a disturbance of the brain’s ability to function....

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4 – Offers for support in everyday life

The offers for support in everyday life is meant to provide support and burden relief to caregiving relatives and other related caregivers. This enables people who are in need of assistance to be more independent and self-reliant in everyday life....

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8 – Respite Care –“ Short-term Care

Domestic care when the care provider is unavailable (respite care) When a private caregiver is unavailable due to holidays, sickness or for other reasons prevented to perform care, the nursing care insurance covers the costs of the required substitute care...

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9 – Outpatient care

People who are in need of care have the option to be cared for outside of the family for part of the day. In this case, day-patient care can be provided. The right to day-patient care is not limited in...

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10 – Geriatric Day Clinic

Patients can be treated in a geriatric day clinic following in-patient treatment or in lieu of hospitalization. For the health care of older people, the day clinic is an important link between out-patient and in-patient clinics.

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11 – Full-time nursing care

If home or outpatient nursing care is no longer sufficient, it may become necessary to move to a nursing home. Full-time nursing care is mainly used by people who are in need of care in the sense of the nursing...

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24 – Health Care Proxy – Power of Attorney for Care – Patient Decree

An accident, a stroke, surgery or other events can affect anyone unexpectedly and lead to situations in which one cannot be responsible to act and make decisions. In these cases, family members can decide only with a power of attorney....

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25 – Legal Guardianship

With advanced age, it is possible that a mental (age-related) disease or a psychological, emotional or physical disability can temporarily or permanently hamper the ability to take careof one–™s personal affairs. For the benefit of the affected individual, legal guardianship...

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27 – Consultation and aid in case of impaired memory in old age

Increasingly more people suffer from impaired memory and orientation at higher age. These impairments may have very different causes. Increased attention must be paid if an individual can no longer manage their everyday life due to difficulties with memory and...

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29a – Check list living environment for individuals with dementia

This checklist gives examples of how flats can be adjusted to the requirements of individuals with dementia. The living environment/flat should be adjusted to the personal abilities of the individual with dementia taking into account spatial conditions. The changes should...

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30 – Check listflat sharing communities for individuals with dementia

This check list intends to help you selecting a flat sharing community (WG) for individuals with dementia. It helps you to clarify, what is important to you. Carefully consider what you can and want to contribute, but also what the...

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40 – Travel – respite and recovery

For persons in need of help and care and their relatives Travel is fun and increases the joy of life, often far beyond the holiday period itself. Mobility impaired people, those diagnosed with dementia or parents with children in need...

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41 – 24 – hour nursing care and supervision at home

Many persons in need of care want   / or require 24-hour care in their home. Often, however, this exceeds the mental and physical capabilities of the relatives. The following options are available as full-time care and care can be organized...

Read more Fact sheet no. 41 (142 KB)