(Pictured left to right ) Alzheimer’s patients Ruth Briggs, Mickey Goodyear and Virginia Mullane try out the new WhisperGlide in the Center Courtyard of The Groves in Independence.

(Sugar Creek, Mo.) A grant in 2006 sponsored a two-day seminar at The Groves Care Center. The sesions taught Alzheimer staff members how to use a Montessori-based Dementia Program developed by Dr. Cameron Camp, director and senior research scientist at Myers Research Institute, Cleveland, OH.

This innovative program uses a new concept relating to activities with dementia patients, always striving to enhance their daily lives. Results have been particularly encouraging in patients who were unresponsive to traditional activities.

Printed material is now also available for families to use when they visit their loved ones.

Grants from Grandma's Alzheimer Fund in 2005 are providing The Groves Care Center with music therapy sessions and a donation toward a van. St. Mary's Manor in Blue Springs will be able to purchase various activity boards and a gardening cart for their Alzheimer residents. Bridge Builders Senior Services used a grant to help fund a seminar for Alzheimer families.

Grandma's Alzheimer Fund was established by the Kobe House Bakery in August 2000. The fund began with proceeds from a 1999 fundraising dinner and auction held in memory of Caroline Rozgaj Kobe. Donations were also given to the National Alzheimer's Association and the Greater Kansas City Chapter.

Since then, the Fund has made a number of donations for patients in the Eastern Jackson County area:

  • 2006 grant money provided a 2-day seminar for staff at The Groves to learn
  • Dr Cameron Camp’s Montessori Programming.  Staff from St Mary’s Manor also attended these classes to learn to use this method in working with Alzheimer patients in their facilities.
  • 2005 grants were given to Bridge Builders for seminar expenses, weekly music therapy was provided to The Groves Care Center, and pathfinder wall panels, supplies for sensory kits, and a Cellu-Gro indoor garden cart were all purchased for St Mary’s Manor, Blue Springs, MO.
  • In 2004, a grant was given to The Groves for the purchase of two new stoves and baking equipment for the Alzheimer unit. Residents can enjoy baking sweets, an activity that gives them the added pleasure of eating their baked treats as well as invoking fond memories.
  • In 2001, Grandma's Alzheimer Fund, with the help of the Independence Rotary Club and the Truman Heartland Community Foundation, donated a "WhisperGlide" -- a wheel-chair accessible glider -- to The Groves in Independence, Mo. This facility operates the largest Alzheimer's Unit in the metropolitan area. It is in the Center Courtyard of The Groves and is used for visiting and other outdoor functions.
  • In 2002, a recliner/rocker and glider chair were donated to St. Mary's Manor in Blue Springs, Mo., as well as a Spinoza Bear with tapes for used in music therapy.
  • In 2003, two grants have been awarded. Bridge Builders, a support group for Alzheimer's patient caregivers, received a grant to conduct a workshop to familiarize caregivers with available resources. The other grant went to The Groves for music therapy supplies.

For more information about Grandma's Alzheimer Fund please contact the Truman Heartland Community Foundation at 816/ 836-8189 or www.thcf.org.

Go to "For More Information" to apply for a Grandma's Alzheimer's Fund Grant.
 
 

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