11 Mar Spring 2018
Spring 2018: Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado®
We are becoming increasingly more dementia-friendly in Northern Colorado as you can tell by looking at the lengthy update below. Our signature program areas (B Sharp, B Social, B Aware, B Empowered, and B Generous) reflect the truth that joy, hope, and well-being are entirely possible even when dementia is part of the journey. We are an “in the meantime” organization. We help people discover that “in the meantime,” until cures for the causes of dementia are found, we can make life changing differences NOW for people striving to live well with dementia. We leverage and provide resources, expertise, activities, and education in Northern Colorado communities so that people living with dementia and their care partners can stay engaged and connected in relationships and meaningful life. B our Partner. Please support us and the signature programs that help us build and sustain dementia-friendly communities.
Here’s the update:
B Sharp
B Sharp Arts Engagement is a life enrichment and research program for people with dementia and their care partners who wish to attend the Fort Collins Symphony and participate in a CSU study examining the sense of connection, mood, and cognition related to experiencing the symphony. 2 concerts left this season: POPS CONCERT with Broadway themed music on Friday April 20, 2018 7pm at Timberline Church and Masterworks 5 concert on May 12, 2018 7:30pm at the Lincoln Center.
B Sharp Visual Arts program is starting at the Museum of Art in Fort Collins on Tuesday, April 10 and meets the following Tuesdays April 17, 24, and May 1 to complete a mask for the MASK display at the museum in May. View other intriguing, beautiful masks and spend the bulk of the time creating your own masks. No right or wrong way to make a mask. If you are living with dementia, creative, and interested in this program, please contact: Lisa Hatchadoorian, Executive Director of the Museum of Art in Fort Collins 970-482-2787.
B Social
Memory Cafés are social gatherings for people with mild to moderate cognitive impairment AND their care partners who want to remain engaged with others traveling the dementia journey. Many of our cafes are intergenerational. Memory Cafés show that there is a lot of joyful living to do even when dementia is part of the journey. Join us for reminiscing, games, inspiration, laughter, music, and snacks. Contact Cyndy Luzinski 970-213-4548.
3rd Monday—Timberline Church, Room 214 10-11:30 am. 2908 Timberline Road, Fort Collins
3rd Wednesday—Good Samaritan Water Valley, 1-2:30 pm. 805 Compassion Drive, Windsor
3rd Wednesday—HomeWell Senior Care or Hillcrest Assisted Living 1-2:30 pm. Places vary each month in Loveland. Call Lynn Hayden-Ugarte (970-461-5918) or John Kemp (970-461-4799) details.
PLEASE CHECK our Facebook page for updates of new memory cafes or special combined memory café gatherings
Okay Chorale 1st and 3rd Thursday 3-4pm First United Methodist Church, 1005 Stover St, Fort Collins. A singing group for people with memory loss and their loved ones. No singing experience required! See website for more details. Contact Linn Zink at lczink@gmail.com for more information.
Library life enrichment is a NEW Community program that meets on the first Tuesday of the month 1-2pm. (during the day!) Contact Sylvia Garcia at the Old Town Library 970-221-6740 or Andrea Scandrett at 812-592-3523 for more information.
Visiting Kittens at Collinwood occurs the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays 1-3 pm. Contact Jill Couch at Legacy Health Care Services for more information. 970-226-0108.
ELDERCARE RESOURCE DAY is April 7 at the Senior Center—many breakout sessions, optional virtual dementia tours, and lunch included. Registration available at https://www.eldercarenet.org/major-events/elder-care-resource-day/
CAREGIVER PAMPERING DAY is April 28 at Pathways. Call Lynette McGowan for details. 970-498-7748.
B Empowered
Timberline Care Partner Support Group
2nd Friday of the month 10-11:30am offers a social gathering/memory café setting for loved ones in room 214 while care partners meet in room 213 for faith-based support group. Contact Cyndy Luzinski 970-213-4548 with questions.
Other Support Groups listed on DementiaFriendsNoCo.org website and on Alzheimer’s Association calendar (alz.org/co) or call 970-472-9798.
Personal consultation and caregiver support and resources offered at Larimer County Office on Aging with Lynette McGowan at 970-498-7758and at Alzheimer’s Association with
Katie Fahrenbruch 970-472-9798. Be sure to talk to Lynette about the caregiver grant available (regardless of financial status) to help pay for services and supplies you might need. Weld County has a similar program.
Dementia Friendly Leaders—a list of senior professional organizations (home care agencies, hospices and palliative care organizations, and long term care and memory care communities) which have invested time for their staff to participate in 8 hours of dementia training each year. The Dementia-Friendly Leader® program is a collaborative effort of Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado® and the Alzheimer’s Associationaimed at raising the standard of expected dementia care in Northern Colorado. Listing participating organizations on the dfcnoco.org website does not guarantee their level of care, but the designation does provide an indication of the level of commitment demonstrated by the leaders and staff of those organizations to invest in education needed to provide their clients and residents with competent, compassionate, person-centered care. New classes started in March.
Virtual Dementia Tours—Available at Eldercare Resource Day on April 7 at the Senior Center and at other locations in the community. Contact Lisa Loehr at Home Instead Senior Care 970-494-0289 or Patti Walter at Right At Home 970-494-1111 for more information.
B Aware
Business training—Encourage businesses you frequent to participate in the free dementia-awareness/dementia-friendly training, so they can provide excellent customer service to all their clients and patrons, even those living with cognitive impairment.
We have delivered over 200 Patient Resource Folders to family practice, internal medicine, and neurology offices in Northern Colorado. Some offices are already calling us for more because they see the value in helping people get connected early to the support available in Northern Colorado. We are compiling and distributing these folders as an effort to increase awareness within the health care community as well as with those people who are newly experiencing dementia symptoms. Our hope is that these folders of information will be one means used to try to minimize isolation that too often occurs with dementia. Several clinics have also participated in staff education to become more dementia-friendly! Contact Cyndy Luzinski 970-213-4548 with questions.
B Generous
Please invite your friends, neighbors, medical providers, caregivers, and family members to the Fundraising event on Saturday, June 9, 2018 9-11:45 at the Fort Collins Senior Center
“Living Well with Dementia—Inspiration and Insights for the Entire Community.”
Lori LaBey, founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks, comes to Fort Collins
Saturday, June 9, 9:00 – 11:45 a.m., Fort Collins Senior Center
Cyndy will present on the Contented Dementia approach to dementia care and provide an update on all the dementia-friendly resources and activities available in Northern Colorado. Our keynote speaker will be Lori LaBey. Lori has been named a 2018 Health Hero by Oprah Winfrey, an Architect of Change for Humanity by Maria Shriver, and the #1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s by Dr. Oz. Lori has been a leading global advocate for years in giving voice to the experts-the people living with dementia. Lori will share top insights she’s learned from her Dementia Chats webinar guests, bringing a message that matches the mission of the “Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado” non-profit initiative: “No one walking the dementia journey has to walk alone.” Lori and Cyndy together will share strategies, resources, and opportunities available to inspire discovery that living with purpose, contentment, and joy is entirely possible–even when dementia is part of the journey. Whether you’re living with dementia, serving as a care partner, healthcare provider, senior care professional, or a community member who wants to make a difference, this seminar is for you.
Although there is no admission fee, donations will be gratefully accepted to help sustain and grow Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado®. Registrations are available by calling the Fort Collins Senior Center, 970.221.6644, and referring to activity # 325400-01.
We are having an “ARTISANS” fund raising sale at the June 9th event by sharing and selling your work and donating the proceeds to “Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado®” to continue the culture changing work we have begun. Sign up with lindrama@aol.com or call Linda Johnson at 719-244-8523 if you are interested in participating.
Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado® started as a volunteer initiative in November, 2015. It is now a non-profit organization committed to ensuring that people walking the dementia journey don’t have to walk alone. All donations support the collaborative community programs and projects listed above. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made on our website or mailed to “Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado” 8403 Castaway Dr; Windsor, CO 80528. More importantly, if dementia has personally touched your lives, be generous with kindness and patience toward one another and be generous with sharing your journey with others in our community. For those of you who have become actual experts in living with dementia yourselves, your courage in sharing your experience is what will help you access what you need to live well and impact our culture to make our world more dementia-friendly.
FINAL NEWS! We are getting a new website thanks to CODE GEEK. Stay tuned!…and know that all future blogs will be MUCH MORE BRIEF. 🙂
