Local alliance debuted at dementia education workshop
BELLE PLAINE, MINN. May 11, 2016 — Belle Plaine’s recently minted Dementia Awareness Alliance (DAA) received a community introduction last Wednesday during a dementia awareness workshop hosted by The Lutheran Home Association (TLHA) at St. John Lutheran Church. About 50 community members, caregivers and individuals with memory loss attended.
Member Rev. Mark Johnson of St. John Lutheran Church briefly introduced the new dementia group.
“Dementia Awareness Alliance is made up of members from a wide variety of community members and businesses. When Jan Zimmerman came to talk with us, we knew this was important and wanted to get involved with this organization to support those living with dementia. All are welcome to join us,” Johnson said.
The DAA is a community partnership, driven by those living with dementia, community members and local businesses, whose goals are to improve health outcomes for community members living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
There are 89,000 people in Minnesota living with Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, and the disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the state. The dementia awareness workshop, featuring University of Minnesota professor and Alzheimer’s researcher Dr. Joseph E. Gaugler, offered education on dementia and the impact to those diagnosed and their caregivers.
“I won’t lie; caregiving is a hard job, it’s challenging. Having a diagnosis of dementia can be scary and people are often in denial which can cause troubled family dynamics. This is why early diagnosis is important; it names the concerns and gives a person time to plan and discuss their future,” Gaugler said.
Gaugler is a professor in the School of Nursing and Center on Aging at The University of Minnesota. His research includes sources and effectiveness of long-term care for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss.
A Live Well at Home grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services made the workshop possible. Jan Zimmerman, Director of Dementia Outreach and Education for TLHA, offered attendees an overview of the grant, which also helped fund the start of the DAA in Belle Plaine. The grant fosters:
- Ministry through development of religious resources
- Outreach
- Advocating for those with dementia and care partners
- Education for businesses and community members
- Collaboration with surrounding communities
- Technology resource for assistive technology
- Quality environment in long term care (programing, life experiences, support for family members)
“The Lutheran Home Association has a rich history of providing support for older adults. This grant is enabling us to expand our efforts to raise awareness about dementia, provide education, and advocate for those with dementia and their care partners. While it is challenging living with dementia, one can live well with dementia with community support. We want to provide hope,” Zimmerman said.
Katie Rice, Program Services Specialist with Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter, also attended the workshop to offer resources and information.
At least one workshop attendee sees the need for more educational events in the area, and offered in the evaluation: “I would like to see presentations given to individual communities and towns so they can begin to plan how to make residents aware of dementia in the community and how to respond. Often my husband was treated rudely because people did not stop to consider that this person may have had dementia.”
Belle Plaine’s Dementia Awareness Alliance meets the third Thursday of the Month from noon to 1 p.m. at Kingsway Retirement Living, 815 West Main Street, Belle Plaine. For more information about the Alliance or to get involved, contact Zimmerman at jrzimmerman@tlha.org or (920) 248-9122.
About The Lutheran Home Association
The Lutheran Home Association is a not-for-profit ministry dedicated to providing for the spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional needs of people entrusted to our care and others whose lives we touch. We offer a wide variety of health care, housing, and spiritual outreach services with campuses in several states and congregational programs serving seniors and individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities nationwide. Services and programs include senior living, skilled nursing care, memory care, disability services, rehabilitative therapies, chaplaincy, Bible classes, worship services, and property management services. Learn more at www.tlha.org, follow @TLHAword on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook.
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