An illness, injury—even a fall—or surgery affect your physical health, but medical conditions and physical problems can also affect your mental state. You might be worried or anxious about how you’ll pay bills, or whether you’ll recover completely. You might be depressed that you can no longer participate in a favorite hobby or pastime. Or maybe you’re caring for someone with a disease that affects the brain, like Alzheimer’s, and you’re having trouble coping with challenging behavior and cognitive issues.

VNSNY’s Behavioral Health and Dementia Management Program provides the resources and support needed to help improve the quality of life for you and your family:

• Care coordination
• Medication management
• Supportive counseling
• Community support
• Diagnosis-specific education

This program addresses the emotional and behavioral symptoms that often accompany physical illness. Specially trained doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, clinical specialists, and home health aides work with you, your loved one, and the patient’s primary doctor to manage anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Your loved one will receive the tools they need to manage their condition, care for themselves, and improve their ability to follow their treatment plan.

Anxiety and Depression

As physical health improves, your anxiety and sadness may lessen. But in the same way that some people benefit from additional care to keep a physical condition from getting worse, some people need help so that worry and sadness don’t develop into anxiety or depression.  Left untreated, these disorders can affect the quality of your life. You may decide to skip treatment or medication, so your physical health may continue to suffer or you may even end up in the hospital.

If your home care nurse or your doctor recommends Behavioral Health services, your care team will work with you, your caregivers, and your doctor to develop a treatment plan that is specific to your diagnosis so you can:

• Learn to identify your triggers so you can manage how you respond to them
• Learn techniques that help you reduce stress

Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or a brain injury that affects reasoning is extremely challenging. VNSNY’s Behavioral Health Management for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias helps both patients and their caregivers. Every treatment plan is designed to allow your loved one to function at their optimal level, with targeted care for every stage. Services are designed to benefit the whole family and may include:

• Strategies to help your loved one take medications properly
• Care coordination and monitoring condition and symptoms
• Supportive counseling and setting appropriate goals
• Caregiver support and education for:
  • Disease progression and symptoms
  • Techniques for helping with care
  • Home safety
  • Promoting positive behaviors
  • Managing difficult behaviors such as wandering, sundowning, aggression, and agitation

For More Information

To find out about VNSNY’s Behavioral Health & Dementia Management program, call 1-800-675-0391.

For information about companionship and in-home services for an elderly loved one with dementia, call 1-888-735-8913.