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GOP leaders increase pressure on colleagues as health bill vote nears

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Wyoming Sem. brings ‘William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play’ to Kingston

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; When Ann Kolanowski, of Kingston, was a young nurse, she was distressed at the way nursing homes treated patients with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease.</p><p>&#8220;It was about 45 years ago, and we didn&#8217;t have good ways to respond to people,&#8221; she said. &#8220;If they were crying or wanted to leave the nursing home, they&#8217;d be tied down or given a drug.&#8221;</p><p>Four decades later Kolanowski, who holds a master&#8217;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.</p><p>&#8220;There are challenges communicating with people with dementia,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They might not understand the words if you go into their room and say it&#8217;s time for a shower. But if you show them a towel and smile and gesture toward the shower, that&#8217;s a better way. We want to help the staff &#8212; who are probably overworked and under-appreciated &#8212; help their patients.&#8221;</p><p>Kolanowski, who teaches at Penn State University&#8217;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.</p><p>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&#8217;s preferences, goals and well-being.</p><p>&#8220;Often a person is in pain and can&#8217;t express it. Maybe someone has a sore shoulder and doesn&#8217;t like to be moved,&#8221; Kolanowski said, suggesting that soreness as a reason a patient might resist a shower. &#8220;We train staff to look for non-verbal signs of pain. Giving them a mild Tylenol before the shower could help.&#8221;</p><p>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.</p><p>Because their research is similar, Kolanowski and Roes have visited each other&#8217;s countries to collaborate on their studies and tour nursing homes.</p><p>&#8220;The challenges of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease and dementia are the same, across countries and cultures,&#8221; Kolanowski said. &#8220;Germany is probably a little ahead of us. They&#8217;re more patient-centered.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Our projects are very similar,&#8221; Roes said during her recent visit to the United States. She explained one of her goals is &#8220;to help keep people at home longer, but not when it gets to be too great a burden for the caregiver. That&#8217;s quite tricky to see where the most stable environment will be.&#8221;</p><p>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.</p><p>On Roes&#8217; 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 &#8220;German Nite&#8221; at St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Roes, who wore lederhosen to the gathering, said the music, dancing and atmosphere were enjoyable and festive, &#8220;just like a German beer hall.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Martina Roes </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_martina-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Martina Roes </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_kolanowski-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ann Kolanowski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_kolanowski-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ann Kolanowski </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_kolanowski.toned_-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ann Kolanowski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_kolanowski.toned_-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Ann Kolanowski </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photos </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_martina.toned_-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Martina Roes </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_martina.toned_-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Martina Roes </caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photos </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_seniorwalking-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Researchers are trying to find ways to make Alzheimer&#8217;s care more patient-centered. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_seniorwalking-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Researchers are trying to find ways to make Alzheimer&#8217;s care more patient-centered. </caption4><photoCredit4>pixabay.com </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Researchers comparenotes on Alzheimer&#8217;s</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Kingston woman, German colleague share Alzheimer’s research