UW Dementia Caregiver Program Members Featured on Wyoming PBS

The role of caregivers for people living with dementia recently was featured in “A State of Mind: The Caregivers” on Wyoming PBS stations.

The episode -- part of the Wyoming PBS documentary series exploring the mental health crisis in the state -- features several members of the Wyoming Dementia Together (WDT) family. WDT is a statewide, nonprofit caregiver network operating through the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA).

The “State of Mind” episode featuring WDT members can be found here.

The journey of Kent Shurtleff, of Riverton, a participant in the WDT program and a longtime caregiver for his wife, Minnie, is featured prominently.

“It is the toughest job I’ve ever had in my life,” he says during the broadcast. “We’re rural people. We don’t look for help; we don’t ask for it. We just try to fix it ourselves.”

The expertise of two members of the WDT team also is featured.

Carol Taylor, from Jackson, sums up the caregiver role by saying, “The partner becomes the primary thinker, doer, planner.”

The stress is unremitting for caregivers, adds UW’s Sabine Schenck, WDT facilitator.

“The responsibility can be extremely challenging,” she says. “It can lead to isolation and loneliness.”

A public screening of the program is planned in Riverton Monday, July 22, at a time and location to be determined. A future showing also will be held in Cheyenne at a later date.

WDT meets by Zoom call every other Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Programs feature guest speakers and allow time for interaction from those who attend online. WDT includes dementia care professionals, licensed clinical social workers, a neuropsychologist, an occupational therapist and caregivers themselves. WDT began meeting in fall 2020 and since has been offering online programming help.

Future WDT programs will feature “Dementia Specific Technology: Safety and Adaptation” Wednesday, June 5; and “Dementia Continuum of Care Options” Wednesday, June 19.

More information is available online on the WDT Caregiver Network website.

For information about registering for Zoom calls and the other free services offered by WDT, call WyCOA at (307) 766-2829 or email wycoa@uwyo.edu.