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USI GWEP helps two areas become part of Dementia Friendly America Network

March 14, 2023

The University of Southern Indiana Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) has helped two more areas in southwestern Indiana become a part of the Dementia Friendly America (DFA) network. The Evansville North side area and Warrick County now join USI, Petersburg, Rockport and Tell City in the GWEP’s grassroots efforts to make the region more dementia friendly. 

According to DFA, more than five million Americans and 15 million caregivers are living with Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association and two Area Agencies on Aging (SWIRCA & More and Generations) collaborate with the USI GWEP to convene key community leaders and members to understand how they can support the growing number of individuals with dementia and create action plans with specific objectives for their communities to become dementia friendly.  

Evansville North 

The coordinator of Dementia Friendly Evansville North Side is Brittany Dempsey, Memory Care Director of the Heritage Center at Holiday Health Care. 

“The Heritage Center is honored to be a part of the Dementia Friendly Community and to be able to show our support and commitment to better serve those who are living in our community with dementia and to also support their care partners,” Dempsey says. “It has always been a passion of mine to care for those living with dementia. As we learn more about dementia and the emotional impact it has on families, it can really make a difference if we come together as a community to spread awareness, provide education and become more dementia friendly.” 

Dementia Friendly Evansville North Side’s kick-off event will be held Tuesday, March 21 in the Browning Room at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Central Branch, 200 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The event includes a free Community Resource Fair from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and an Alzheimer’s Association presentation with Becky Vogel, a community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

Warrick County 

Teresa Durbin, Assisted Living Director at The Village at Hamilton Pointe in Newburgh, Indiana, coordinates Dementia Friendly Warrick County. 

“This is such an important awareness initiative,” Durbin says. “Seeing the lack of education, resources and support for caregivers and those living with dementia, I am honored to facilitate this supportive project and excited to be a part of making Warrick County more dementia friendly.” 

Dementia Friendly Warrick County is hosting a Community Resource Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 25 at Boonville Senior Center, located at 150 W. IN 62 in Boonville, Indiana. Learn more at USI.edu/dfc/warrick-county. 

According to DFA, a dementia friendly community is “informed, safe, and respectful of individuals with the disease, their families and caregivers and provides supportive options that foster quality of life.” 

In 2019, USI received a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement the GWEP. The dementia friendly effort is just one part of the GWEP, which is also focused on developing a workforce to maximize patient and family engagement and integrating geriatrics into primary care. 

For more information on how you can be involved with the USI GWEP’s dementia friendly programs, contact Brandy Sitzman, USI GWEP Project Coordinator, at 812-464-1894, or visit USI.edu/gwep. 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,691,706 million with zero percentage financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. 

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