UA student interns lead dementia program

Dr. Sharon Arkin wants what is best for UA students and people who have mild to moderate dementia.

She helms the Elder Rehab program at Desert Sports and Fitness, a private gym that specializes in programs for seniors.

Elder Rehab matches its memory-challenged participants with trained UA student interns and volunteers. The students provide their respective partners with 20 twice-weekly, two-hour sessions per semester. Each session consists of an hour of physical exercise and an hour of language and memory stimulation activities.

Formerly located at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the research-based program is starting its second year at Desert Sports and Fitness at 2480 N. Pantano Road, Tucson.

“I got the idea of using students when I was studying in Chicago and my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,” she said.

“I had to go out of town to do an internship. I advertised for a part-time companion for my mother, who was in assisted living. Her memory was lousy, but she was still very social. The student I met became her companion for almost three years.”

With Elder Rehab, students are not paid, but earn academic credit and/or volunteer service credit. That gives them a competitive edge when applying for medical school and other health care graduate programs.

The program is based on Arkin’s post-graduate research project, Alzheimer Rehab by Students, at the then-Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders at the UA’s Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences between 1996 and 2001.

The research demonstrated that sustained exercise and cognitive stimulation administered by undergraduate students slowed cognitive decline, as compared to a nontreated historical control group, and improved physical fitness and mood.

When Arkin rolled out the program, she renamed it out of necessity.

“We didn’t want people in the program to have to walk around advertising that they have Alzheimer’s,” she said. “They don’t say the word, like it used to be with cancer. There’s a little stigma attached.”

For six years prior to the pandemic-dictated closure, Arkin conducted a community nonresearch adaptation of the program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, first as a volunteer, later as a part-time contractor.

It flourished with 25 to 35 persons with dementia per semester having twice-weekly, two-hour, one-to-one exercise and cognitive stimulation session with their assigned student partner.

Since the pandemic waned, the Elder Rehab has been operating on a smaller scale at Desert Sports and Fitness. Arkin’s goal is to find a permanent home for Elder Rehab so that it will continue beyond her lifetime, she said.

“It’s a magical connection,” she added about the students and participants.

“The family members get support and the person with dementia — we call them participants, not patients — get this tremendous attention.”

To participate, applicants must be 60 or older (younger is otherwise qualified); have disabling memory problems; be willing to participate; be unable to travel independently; have reliable transportation to and from the gym; have the consent of a family member or guardian; continent of urine and bowel, if reminded regularly (pads or Depends OK); and ambulatory/able to transfer from wheelchair (cane or walker OK).

Cost is $399 per semester, which comes to $10 per hour, plus the cost of a one-hour fitness assessment by a certified personal trainer, at a cost of $85.

The fitness assessment will not take place until a free cognitive assessment by Arkin has determined the applicant can handle and enjoys the activities and a suitable student partner is identified.

“No one fails the assessment,” Arkin said. “Its purpose is to create an exercise routine for the student to follow that is customized to the participant’s level of fitness. Session times will be determined by negotiation between each student and his or her partner’s caregiver. They can be on any two nonconsecutive days of the week.

“They create a customized routine that will be administered by a student, who is being trained with their partner. It’s five-star service for almost $10 an hour. Where can get you get that kind of treatment?”

For further information or applications, contact Arkin at 520-603-2912 or [email protected].

Early August/mid-August is a crucial time for the program. It’s when students return to UA and must commit to an internship or volunteer service program. So, Arkin is looking immediately for participants.

“It’s easy to recruit students,” she said. “There are internship advisers in every department. But if we don’t have a partner for them, I can’t provide that experience for them.”