Parker County Today PCT March 2019 | Page 70

Dr. Agna Elizabeth Bailey, D.O. Family Medicine Texas Health Harris Methodist Willow Park Medical City Weatherford For Dr. Elizabeth Bailey, medicine is her second career. She had always wanted to be a social worker because she wanted to help people, so she worked hard and became one. “That’s my bachelor’s degree,” Dr. Bailey said. “I was working in the field and realized that I can’t do this forever or I will die.” She found herself working at the shelter for abused and neglected children who had been removed from their homes. “I saw the worst of the worst,” Dr. Bailey said. “I took care of the child who had been chained to the oven. I did that for minimum wage and no retirement or security and because it’s funded primarily by United Way and Catholic Charities. I knew I couldn’t keep doing it or I’d burn out. It’s all very hard to deal with.” She thought about what career she could pursue where she could still listen to and help people, but add in an element of science. “I needed to do something where’s it not all emotional sadness all the time,” she said. Medical school was the perfect idea. “I had to go back and take all my sciences that I didn’t have,” Dr. Bailey said. “I was older when I went to medical school. I went to Midwestern University based out of Chicago. We got the best professors and a brand new medical school. My residency was at the Fort Worth Osteopathic Clinic (before it closed) and then JPS. A clinic in Diamond Hill on the Northside needed a doctor. I was medical director at the clinic so it went full Continued on page 82 Janet L. Standifer, M.Ed. CCC/SLP, CDP, CADDCT Dementia in Perspective Few Americans understand Dementia, meaning few Parker Countians understand it, although an estimated 13.5 million Americans suffer from it. Once someone is diagnosed with Dementia, both the patient and their loved ones travel on a journey down a dark, complicated maze, often with little guidance. Janet Standifer is determined to change all of that for Parker County Dementia patients and their loved ones. “My mission is to increase awareness and knowledge about dementia with families, healthcare professionals, and non-healthcare communities,” Standifer said. “I teach hands-on, practical, skills using techniques to promote better practices in dementia care.”  She helps family-members and care-givers create a more positive, dementia-friendly, caring environment for the Dementia patient. “It’s all about how we give care and preserve relation- ships,” she said. Dementia is not one specific disease, but an umbrella term for loss of at least two brain functions that impairs thinking, emotions, and behavior. “Dementia is a progressive brain disease,” Standifer said. Continued on page 82 68