Kingston woman, German colleague share Alzheimer's research

Times Leader - 3/22/2017

March 22--KINGSTON -- When Ann Kolanowski, of Kingston, was a young nurse, she was distressed at the way nursing homes treated patients with Alzheimer's disease.

"It was about 45 years ago, and we didn't have good ways to respond to people," she said. "If they were crying or wanted to leave the nursing home, they'd be tied down or given a drug."

Four decades later Kolanowski, who holds a master's degree from Penn State University and a Ph.D. from New York University, is researching ways people in institutional settings can be helped without anti-psychotic drugs or restraints.

"There are challenges communicating with people with dementia," she said. "They might not understand the words if you go into their room and say it's time for a shower. But if you show them a towel and smile and gesture toward the shower, that's a better way. We want to help the staff -- who are probably overworked and under-appreciated -- help their patients."

Kolanowski, who teaches at Penn State University's Main Campus, is sharing a $2.5 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health with colleagues Barbara Resnick from the University of Maryland in Baltimore and Kimberly Van Haitsma, also of Penn State.

With the well-being of the patients uppermost in their minds, they are designing ways people who work in institutional settings can provide care that is more patient-centered, or more concerned with the patient's preferences, goals and well-being.

"Often a person is in pain and can't express it. Maybe someone has a sore shoulder and doesn't like to be moved," Kolanowski said, suggesting that soreness as a reason a patient might resist a shower. "We train staff to look for non-verbal signs of pain. Giving them a mild Tylenol before the shower could help."

In addition to working with Resnick and Van Haitsma, Kolanowski has recently been comparing notes with Martina Roes Ph.D., a researcher from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, whom she met at a conference in the United States.

Because their research is similar, Kolanowski and Roes have visited each other's countries to collaborate on their studies and tour nursing homes.

"The challenges of Alzheimer's disease and dementia are the same, across countries and cultures," Kolanowski said. "Germany is probably a little ahead of us. They're more patient-centered."

"Our projects are very similar," Roes said during her recent visit to the United States. She explained one of her goals is "to help keep people at home longer, but not when it gets to be too great a burden for the caregiver. That's quite tricky to see where the most stable environment will be."

Kolanowski, who is looking forward to revisiting Germany this summer, said the trips are not all work. On a previous visit, Roes took her to a rathskeller and to see the Berlin Wall.

On Roes' trips to Pennsylvania, Kolanowski said, her guest was fascinated by the architecture of buildings on South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre, and in late February enjoyed a pre-Lenten party called "German Nite" at St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre.

Roes, who wore lederhosen to the gathering, said the music, dancing and atmosphere were enjoyable and festive, "just like a German beer hall."

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