Atlanta Journal Constitution Spotlights SeniorBridge's Expertise Developing Personalized Care Plans for Families Dealing with Cognitive Decline

SeniorBridge is featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, one of the leading newspapers in the country, as part of a story on mild cognitive impairment (MCI).  The story describes the intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more pronounced decline of dementia and describes how SeniorBridge helps families cope.   The article also features expert commentary from SeniorBridge's Claudia Fine on the evolution in the field. 

Below is a key excerpt. To read the full text, click here.   

Subtle declines in acuity are more difficult for doctors and researchers to diagnose, in part because many other conditions can have a secondary impact on memory and brain function. Memory lapses and spells of confusion are often caused by an illness, depression and other treatable health woes....

Claudia Fine, chief professional officer at SeniorBridge, a health care consulting company, said the diagnostic boundaries of brain decline have become “blurred.”

“I’ve been in this field close to 30 years and when I started, mild cognitive impairment didn’t really exist,” she said. “What we had was pseudo-dementia and that was not really dementia, it was depression.”

SeniorBridge is often called by an adult child worried about an elderly parent’s behavior.

Sometimes the senior has an illness or is suffering from “sensory depravation,” and simply needs a more engaging lifestyle that gets him or her out of the house more, according to Fine.

SeniorBridge puts together customized plans for patients. The plans can include getting help to pay bills, putting together a daily schedule and labeling kitchen cabinets with signs that say, “dishes go here.”

As people live longer, the chances of someday facing cognitive decline go up, Dr. Majid Fotuhi, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said.

“If we live long enough, we will all lose our marbles,” he said. “Once you pass 100, we don’t use this diagnosis [of mild cognitive impairment]. We just say ‘job well done.’”