Stronger together: Overcoming life’s challenges as a team
Bob and Elaine Caljean reminisce on the couch of their Archbald home. After Elaine began noticing problems with her memory about a year ago, she was diagnosed with dementia and is receiving specialized care from The Wright Center for Community Health.
The Wright Center’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program helps Archbald family address early stages of the disease
The first time Bob Caljean saw Elaine Prutisto, he fell instantly in love.
“I was at a job site, servicing a machine, and she walked by,” he said. “She was just beautiful. And I said, ‘Well, that’s the girl I’m going to marry.’”
Nearly 65 years have passed, but Elaine remembers their first meeting, too. Bob was handsome, with a full head of wavy dark hair, and nicely dressed, even though he was completing a repair job for his family’s company, Caljean Vending.
After two years of dating, the couple married at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Archbald on Nov. 24, 1962, followed by a wedding breakfast at St. Michael’s Hall in Jermyn. Decades of adventures and challenges followed for the lifelong Archbald residents. Bob and Elaine Caljean raised three daughters, built two homes in the borough, traveled the world, served their community, and navigated life’s ups and downs.
About a year ago, however, Elaine, 82, noticed she was having memory lapses.
“I knew it was happening, but I didn’t talk about it,” she said.
The Caljean’s longtime primary care physician, Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, who also serves as president and CEO at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, first raised the possibility that Elaine was displaying signs of dementia, according to the couple’s daughter, Leslie Caljean.
Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of dementia, is a progressive brain disorder that gradually impairs memory, thinking abilities, and daily functioning. In Pennsylvania, it affects about 282,000 individuals. In 2023, about 465,000 family members and friends across the state stepped into caregiving roles, often providing unpaid around-the-clock care for loved ones living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, frequently with limited opportunities for respite.
Bob and Elaine Caljean look through family photo albums at the kitchen table of their Archbald home.
The Wright Center for Community Health provides affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory whole-person primary health services for all ages, with specialized services designed to meet the needs of Northeast Pennsylvania’s growing geriatric population. Among its offerings is the nationally recognized Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care (ADC) Program, which employs a collaborative co-management model. In this approach, The Wright Center’s care team works closely with the patient’s primary care or referring physician to deliver coordinated and comprehensive support for patients, their families, and caregivers.
Dr. Thomas-Hemak grew up with the Caljeans’ daughters and has been the couple’s primary care physician for years. The couple praised “Dr. Linda” and The Wright Center for Community Health staff for their expertise and thoroughness in diagnosing and beginning to treat Elaine’s dementia.
Recognizing the early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and seeking help quickly can prepare patients and families for the future, said Nicole Flynn, the director of The Wright Center’s geriatrics service line. Although certain treatments and medications may slow the progression of these conditions for some individuals, a cure does not currently exist.
“It’s more common that the patient or the caregiver comes to us after the disease has progressed,” Flynn said. “In some ways, the disease can be harder for the caregivers and family members because the patient doesn’t remember. It’s hard to understand why this person they’ve always known is acting so strangely.”
From left, Bob, Leslie, and Elaine Caljean in their Archbald home. Leslie, the couple’s daughter, moved back to Archbald from Philadelphia after Elaine was diagnosed with dementia.
After being referred to The Wright Center’s ADC Program, patients receive a 90-minute in-person visit with a dementia care specialist and a personalized care plan developed with the referring physician. In addition to the patient’s primary care physician and dementia care specialist, the team includes a community health worker, social worker, nurse, and others as needed. The program offers support services, including round-the-clock access to caregivers for assistance and advice to avoid emergency department visits and hospitalizations and ongoing patient monitoring with at least one annual in-person visit to ensure that ongoing and emerging needs are met, Flynn explained.
Bob, 85, appreciates the regular phone calls from Flynn with updates about test results or to see how a treatment, procedure, or new medication is working – not just for Elaine but for him, too.
“Nicole once called on a Sunday because she saw my blood pressure test had come back very high,” he said. “We learned later the machine had malfunctioned, but she’s always keeping an eye on us.”
The Wright Center has been recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as an “Age-Friendly Health System” for its approach to geriatric medicine, including ensuring clinicians are focused on the 4Ms: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.
Wright Center clinicians specializing in geriatric care focus on understanding what matters most to each patient, including their treatment priorities and preferences and end-of-life care. They work to help patients maintain mobility for daily activities, prevent and manage conditions like dementia, depression, and delirium, and regularly review medications to ensure they support, rather than hinder, the patient’s overall well-being.
In addition to medication and regular visits, clinicians and other care team members make recommendations for patients and their families to help manage symptoms and potentially slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and dementia. These suggestions often include utilizing other resources available in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Dr. Thomas-Hemak recommended that Elaine enroll in Telespond Senior Service’s Adult Day Program. Telespond is one of The Wright Center’s many community partners, and its day program provides social and health-related services for older adults, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s a way for the patient to avoid social isolation,” Flynn said. “It offers cognitive stimulation, as well as respite for the caregiver.”
Bob and Elaine Caljean pose in front of Notre-Dame during a trip to Paris in 1992
At first, Elaine was hesitant to go to Telespond. She worried she wouldn’t know what to do or that she’d make a mistake. Many people with Alzheimer’s and dementia resist going to a program like Telespond’s, Flynn said.
“There’s a stigma around it. You’re an adult, and you’re going to daycare. Plus, people often don’t want others to know they’re struggling with memory problems,” she said. “I explain it to people using different language, like calling it a senior center but with specialized activities.”
When Dr. Thomas-Hemak encouraged Elaine to try Telespond’s program – an idea supported by Leslie, who had moved back to Archbald in 2024 to help care for her parents – Elaine could no longer resist. To her surprise, she quickly felt at home.
“I’m retired, and I didn’t realize I was bored until I started going to Telespond,” she said. “There are some people who go there that I knew a long time ago. It’s fun.”
Meanwhile, Bob, Leslie, and her two sisters, Renea and Sharon, and The Wright Center care team are also doing all they can to ensure Elaine can remain healthy and safe at home. As the disease progresses, Elaine has admittedly become more forgetful. She and Leslie agree that she occasionally experiences confusion and minor agitation if her evening routine becomes disrupted. Bob said it now takes longer for her to comprehend some of their discussions and often repeats things for clarity.
The way Bob sees it, Elaine’s worsening dementia is just another challenge they must cope with as a team. After 62 years, there isn’t much the couple hasn’t faced together.
“Patience and tolerance,” Bob said about the secret to their long marriage.
Elaine chimed in, laughing, “You get cranky sometimes. You do.”
Her husband replied, “Sometimes I don’t have a lot of patience, but I’m working on it.”
Bob, who also has health challenges, said Leslie’s decision to move back to Archbald after living for decades in Philadelphia has been a “blessing.” Leslie is relieved to take a more active role in both parents’ medical appointments now that she lives two minutes away. She keeps her sisters updated; Renea, her husband, and their two daughters live in Connecticut, and Sharon, her husband, and their two sons live in New Jersey.
“I was blown away at Mom’s appointments because Dr. Linda remembers things that happened with my mom even years ago,” Leslie said. “She can recall everything about my mom’s health history. I am really impressed.”
While The Wright Center’s care team closely monitors Bob and Elaine’s health, the couple embraces life with the activities they love most. They enjoy weekly dinners with friends, often visiting favorite spots like Sibio’s in Scranton and the Montdale Country Club. Devoted Yankees fans, they never miss a game on TV. Bob also loves planning special outings, from concerts at The Theater at North in Scranton to a recent train excursion to Jim Thorpe. In countless small but meaningful ways, Bob continuously shows his love for Elaine.
“I make her tea every morning. And when I get home from work, I’ll make her a sandwich, or I’ll cook dinner. On Sundays, I make a roast or something,” Bob said, adding that he has always been the main cook in the family.
Elaine nodded and laughed. “I’m known as the queen,” she said.
Leslie responded, “You deserve it, Mom. Always.”
For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program and geriatrics service line, go to TheWrightCenter.org.
