Alzheimer's and Dementia

Maximizing Life for People with Alzheimer’s and Dementia 

The numbers are startling. Almost one in five Canadians has Alzheimer’s disease in their immediate family.  

As our population ages, that number will rise dramatically. Many more of us will experience this devastating disease ourselves—or in someone we love. 

Toronto Rehab — Maximizing Life

Dementia profoundly changes peoples’ lives and those of their families. But at Toronto Rehab, we help people maximize life despite their disease. We’re a leader in rehabilitation for older adults who have complex cognitive and psychosocial needs. We provide strategies to minimize the deterioration of memory and thinking skills. We provide strategies to minimize the deterioration of memory and thinking skills.

We work with individuals to control wandering, aggression and other difficult behaviours. We help people to live as safely and independently as possible—whether at home or in care.

Our interprofessional health care team has expertise in addressing the full range of physical, mental, emotional and social issues associated with dementia. We also specialize in addressing challenging behavioural issues.

Through our care and research, we’re developing practical solutions to the issues faced by individuals with dementia, their families and their caregivers. And at Toronto Rehab, research and care are integrated. Our researchers work side by side with the health care team so that our patients benefit from discoveries—as we make them.

 

Individualized Care for Better Outcomes

Dementia causes loss of memory and mental abilities such as judgment and reasoning. It affects a person’s behaviour, mood and ability to communicate.

Dementia affects each person differently and our care reflects that. We help people achieve goals that are meaningful to them and their family. We support families by helping them to understand and manage behaviour changes caused by dementia.  

We focus on superior outcomes for each and every patient.

Care is provided through three services:

• Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Rehabilitation Service – for older adults with behavioural challenges caused by dementias

• Outpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic – for older adults requiring specialized assessments for psychiatric disorders

• Psychogeriatric Outreach Service – a resource providing expertise and support on behavioural issues to long-term care homes and retirement homes

Finding Solutions 

Toronto Rehab researchers continue to find new solutions to increase the independence of individuals living Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Our patients benefit from these discoveries and we’re also sharing them with rehabilitation providers across the country and around the world. Recent innovations include:

• a personal emergency response system that can detect when a person has fallen and call for help.

• a way-finding belt that uses GPS and Bluetooth technologies to help people with mild dementia find their way

• better ways to screen the driving safety of people with very mild dementia