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Kevin Knaup
Kevin Knaup received his Kansas Adult Care Home Administrator's license in 1983 and is the Administrator and part owner of Sunset Manor, Inc. in Frontenac, KS. He has been employed at Sunset Manor for 31 years. He is a member of Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Adult Care Executives. He has served on various local and state committees for education and training in the Adult Care home field.
Senior Living
2011-11-21 10:47:42
Hope on the horizon for dementia?
Q: My father who is already in a nursing facility was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Can you touch on dementia as it relates to those in nursing facilities?
A: There’s hope on the horizon for people with Alzheimer’s disease, not to mention their families and professional caregivers. But the horizon is never as close as it looks. There’s a report out on a vaccine to delay or prevent Alzheimer’s by keeping plaques from forming in the brain. However, some scientists think these plaques - masses of protein found in the brains of all people with Alzheimer’s - are a result of the disease, not a cause. If that’s so, cleaning them up probably wouldn’t help at all. But that’s only part of the story. While scientist struggle to find causes and cures, providers and researchers are making strides in how we understand and interact with people with dementia. Design, programming, staff ratios and training, family relations and technology. There’s no shortage of things to consider if you’re providing dementia care. But probably the single most crucial element is that elusive one we call the human touch. Hire the right people in the right numbers and give them the training and support they need and you’ve gone a long way toward assuring good care. “There are a lot of things we do in dementia care that cost a lot but are relatively worthless. There are other things that are hard to cost out but that are priceless.” The bottom line, unless and until we find a universal cure for this disease, what happens in our nursing facilities is at least as important as what happens in the research lab.
 
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