DOWNLOADS
Promote Catholic Aging Ministry
Free Handouts and Education
Free Handouts and Education
Printable Alzheimer’s Cards
This is a free sheet of 10 cards that can be printed at home, trimmed, and handed out to anyone in the public who might need to know (discreetly) that your loved one had Alzheimer’s disease. Let me know if you have a suggestion on different verbiage that would be helpful to you. Email me at Matt@CatholicAging.com with suggestions and requests.
Free Handouts and Education
El Rosario de la Paz con la Demencia Primer Capítulo (Spanish version)
This is the first Joyful Mystery in “Rosario de la Paz con la Demencia.” You may download it to print as many copies as needed, as well as email it to as many people as you want. We only ask that you do not change anything on the handout. The handout offers very practical information and helps to promote the book.
Free Handouts and Education
The Peace with Dementia First Chapter
This is the first Joyful Mystery in “The Peace with Dementia Rosary.” You may download it to print as many copies as needed, as well as email it to as many people as you want. We only ask that you do not change anything on the handout. The handout offers very practical information and helps to promote the book.
LINKS
Moral Guidance in Healhcare and Caregiving
Moral Guidance in Healthcare and Caregiving
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk: The Gift of Dying Well – Seeking the Moral Path
Filmed at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and ideally suited for parish-based and other educational settings, this installment of the series “Seeking the Moral Path” offers guidance and direction for those who may be facing these and other questions. The link is to Fr. Tad Pacholczyk’s YouTube Channel.
Moral Guidance in Healthcare and Caregiving
National Catholic Bioethics Center
The Mission of The National Catholic Bioethics Center is to provide education, guidance, and resources to the Church and society to uphold the dignity of the human person in health care and biomedical research, thereby sharing in the ministry of Jesus Christ and his Church.
Moral Guidance in Healthcare and Caregiving
PEG decision tree
This is an infographic published by the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) regarding the decision to use a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube for hydration and nutrition of a patient not able to eat normal foods. A full article by the CMA is also available explaining the decision tree.
Moral Guidance in Healthcare and Caregiving
When to recommend a PEG tube
This document is published by the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) regarding the decision to use a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube for hydration and nutrition of a patient not able to eat normal foods. This is an explanation of the CMA’s PEG Tube Decision Tree.
Church Documents
Church Documents
Spe Salvi
Spe salvi facti sumus, is the second encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI promulgated on November 30, 2007, and is about the theological virtue of hope. Hope can be challenged when aging, caregiving, or in ill health. Pope Benedict XVI beautifully encourages us in the letter on Christian hope.
Patient and Family Guides
Patient and Family Guides
Firearm Life Plan
Firearm Life Plan (FLP) is a research-based website with resources to educate families on having a succession plan for firearms. When someone develops Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia type, they may lose safety awareness (very important with weapons) and may also, but not always, have paranoia. The FLP recognizes that firearms are more than a tool, but can have sentimental value and be part of someone’s identity as a protector and sportsman. You will find guidance on having a conversation about what to do with firearms if they are no longer safe to have access to, with input now with the firearms owner.
Medications
Mobility and Safety
Mobility and Safety
The CDC’s STEADI Fall Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some amazing, useful information for preventing falls in the home and elsewhere. There are several checklists and articles to help keep you out of the emergency room, nursing home, or worse. Remember to seek professional advice when doing home repairs and modifications. Consider speaking with an occupational therapist.
Mind and Mentation
Mind and Mentation
Dementia Symptoms Checklist
This comprehensive tool from The National Council of Dementia Minds has been created by an interdisciplinary team of retired physicians who are living with neurocognitive disorders. There is a PDF to download and a video explaining each of the symptoms.
