Kristina Blocker, a Granite Bay resident and owner of Silver Pathways, worked in geriatric psychiatry at a hospital for nine years before starting her own business (formerly known as Dementia Care Advisors) in October 2011. She made the transition because it seemed to her that families needed more help coping with a relative’s dementia or Alzheimer’s disease than did the patients themselves. “I decided to start a business with educating families on what to do and how to cope with dementia, and what to expect when the unexpected happens, how to communicate, that sort of thing,” she said. Blocker started working with Seniors First to provide consultations, assessments, care plans, workshops and support groups related to Alzheimer’s disease, and Seniors First now directs dementia-related calls to her. Blocker also tours different communities with a series of three workshops on the first, second and third Wednesday of each month – understanding the seven stages, caregiver stress, and then children of dementia, respectively.
