There are approximately 5.8 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to estimates from the CDC, with Hispanic and African Americans projected to experience the largest increases between 2015 and 2060. The Alzheimer’s Association projects Arizona will report the largest percentage increase — 33% — of people living and dealing with dementia by 2025.
To improve its efforts to support and protect the financial interests of the population of its members — as well as their caregivers — who live with these diseases, Landings Credit Union ($247.7M, Tempe, AZ) has earned a dementia-friendly business designation. President and CEO Brian Lee says the cooperative is ready, trained, and taking steps to better accommodate and serve members who exhibit the signs of dementia.
The Initiative
According to Lee, the idea to seek a dementia-friendly designation was first raised by Landings’ board chair’s daughter, who works for a non-profit organization involved with dementia.
“We fit the typical profile of a credit union whose members average 50 years old,” Lee says. “We understand how members go through different life stages. Aging and all that comes with it presents needs we need to adjust to for all members. We cannot forget about our long-time older members’ needs.”
Dementia Friendly America is a national network of communities, organizations, and individuals that also grants Dementia Friendly (DF) certifications. Once the credit union recognized the opportunity in training staff to spot the signs of dementia, it secured a grant from the nearby city of Mesa — itself a designated DF community — to do so.
“It wasn’t a huge barrier for us to get the designation as a DF credit union,” Lee says. “It signals our commitment to make changes, to do better. We believe doing good is good for business. We expect no monetary gain; it’s just the right thing to do. If it helps with member retention and encourages caregivers and other loved ones to open accounts with us, that’s a bonus.”
Today, all Landings staff members are trained to recognize the signs of dementia in members. The credit union also has selected eight staff members to serve as Alzheimer’s and dementia advocates, providing an additional resource to colleagues with questions.
Part of the DF training involves understanding the differences between Alzheimer’s and dementia as well as the differences between Alzheimer’s and dementia and everyday absent-mindedness.
“We’ve all walked into a room but forgotten why we’re there,” Lee says. “Most people with their cognitive abilities intact will quickly remember and find their car keys, wallet, or purse.”
Alzheimer’s and dementia, however, are far more extreme. Those suffering from the disease cannot recall why they’re there.
“It becomes more acute of an issue with their finances when they start missing payment due dates after they’ve historically paid their bills on time,” the CEO says.
The Signs
Through their training, staff members at Landings learned what dementia is, the 10 signs of the illness, and what to do if they see the signs in a member. Perhaps not surprising, empathy and simple observational skills are the primary qualities needed to serve an aging member segment most effectively.
Employees can raise the alarm when members with frequent in-branch encounters struggle to find the words to explain their issue or speak clearly enough to articulate what they want, Lee says. Unfortunately, it’s more difficult to spot behavioral changes for members the credit union doesn’t see as often.
Landings is also trained on a critical element that people with Alzheimer’s and dementia face — exploitation of their financial resources.
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Fraud Protection
The people most likely to exploit those with Alzheimer’s and dementia are often their own family members and caregivers. These are the individuals with intimate knowledge of the afflicted’s finances and sensitive information, such as login IDs and passwords.
According to Lee, Landings occasionally fields requests to wire funds from a member’s account to an account in Nigeria, which is a well-known hot bed of fraud and a red flag for the credit union’s fraud prevention department.
“Our risk management processes can easily put a hold on that type of transfer, but we can’t look at every transaction,” Lee says. “That’s why we’re building in more technology to better safeguard the members we don’t see every day in the branch.”
But unauthorized attempts to access a member’s funds can even occur in plain sight at a branch. In such instances, Lee says the member is usually sitting in the lobby or out in the car, and the person making the transfer request is often a family member. When the staff member asks to speak to the member, they learn the member is often too afraid to speak up in front of their family, so staffers try to get the member alone to assess the situation.
The money scramble gets more complicated when multiple family members have power-of-attorney over the senior member.
“The more we can discuss with other people we’re allowed to speak with, the better we can make an informed assessment of what’s really going on,” Lee says.
That’s where data analytics comes in. Landings is currently evaluating automated solutions that can detect activity that doesn’t fit the member’s typical behavior pattern so the credit union can intervene and verify the legitimacy of a funds transfer.
The Importance Of Branch Décor And Layout
Environment can play a significant role in triggering confusion and panic. For example, branches with patterned carpeting or flooring can be disconcerting and visually perplexing to someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Such triggers can affect their depth perception and spatial awareness. To mitigate that issue, the credit union is evaluating its branch layout and décor through a new lens.
“We’ve also made quiet spaces for members who might be alarmed by noise,” Lee says. “And, we’ve changed our wall décor to display more calming colors when we remodel our branches.”
Next Steps
Landings has taken significant strides in its efforts to better support people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, but Lee isn’t stopping here.
“We’d love to see a national credit union organization like CUNA transform our industry into a complete dementia-friendly one,” the CEO says. “But for now, I’m pointing other credit unions to the resources we’ve used. It’ll take asking communities to be part of the dementia-friendly movement, not waiting for it to happen.”
In the meantime, Lee and Landings Credit union is committed to continuing training for staff and looking for additional ways its can track activities on its members’ accounts.
“This effort we undertook last year is a journey,” Lee says. “Every day we’re looking for new and better ways to grow and allocate resources to meet the challenge.”