Written by Linda Wright, Community Transition Supervisor at SWIRCA & More
Dementia Friendly America (DFA) is a national network striving to ensure communities across the United States support the needs of persons living with dementia and their care partners. DFA provides support and directions to potential Dementia Friendly Communities, including a tool kit to help guide and provide resources for communities to adopt dementia friendly practices.
In early 2021, SWIRCA & More (Area on Aging #16 that covers Spencer County) began working with USI, the Alzheimer’s Association (AA), and Generations (Area Agency on Aging #13 that covers Pike County) on a project to make the cities of Rockport, in Spencer County, and Petersburg, in Pike County, Dementia Friendly Communities. The coordinators for this initiative were Linda Wright with SWIRCA & More and Brenda Hancock with Generations. This article will focus on the Rockport project.
Initial work included establishing a cross-sector team in each community to work collaboratively on making the necessary changes in the communities. DFA required three letters of support for each community. SWIRCA & More provided six letters of support from stakeholders who agreed to participate in the project, including one from the Rockport Mayor, Don Winkler. On February 24, 2021, the city of Rockport, along with Petersburg, joined the Dementia Friendly America network. SWIRCA & More continued to work on recruiting stockholders and creating an action team to decide how best to make changes in the Rockport community. Monthly action team meetings have been held in Rockport since.
Stakeholders/action team members now include representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Miller’s Merry Manor nursing facility, Purdue Extension, Spencer County Council on Aging, Spencer County Emergency Management, Spencer County Public Library, Trinity United Methodist Church, Together Home Health, South Spencer School Corporation, Christian Resource Center, Memorial Hospital & Healthcare, Lincoln Hills nursing facility, Horizon’s Home Health, Scenic Hills Care Center, Caregiver Homes, Lincoln-Hills Development Corporation, Angels Healthcare, Deaconess Primary Care for Seniors, Guardianship Services of Southwest Indiana, Hosparus Home Health, Woodmont Healthcare, Amedysis, Home Instead, Life Spring Health System, Heart To Heart Hospice, AA, and four community members including one former care partner, two current care partners and one person living with dementia.
It is a goal of DFA to involve persons living with dementia and their care partners in the action team. This has been difficult for this community and others. One of the initial stakeholders was a former caregiver for her husband and has provided invaluable input on this project. It wasn’t until last month that a person living with dementia and his care partner expressed interest in joining the action team. On September 22, 2022, Dementia Friendly Rockport held a Senior Resource Fair at Trinity United Methodist Church. There were 17 providers that hosted booths, and 10 members of the community that participated. This was perhaps the most successful event thus far. Ten new members joined the action team, including the gentleman living with dementia and his wife and care partner.
The Rockport action team has been focusing on providing education for the community and bringing awareness to the initiative. There have been two Community Dementia Workshops that have hosted speakers on dementia-related topics. To bring awareness to the initiative, action team meetings are held in differing locations throughout Rockport including the library, the Methodist church, and area restaurants.
In the spring, Rockport will host a training by Teepa Snow, one of the leading experts on dementia care. The action team is working on starting a support group for caregivers and a Memory Café in Rockport.
For more information, contact Linda Wright at lwright@swirca.org.
