Growing Dementia Supports Rurally

Knowledge changes everything. That’s the feedback we’ve received from several organizations and staff bodies who have recently learned more about our dementia friendly communities initiatives.

Day Program Facility Grand Opening in Ituna

With people with intellectual disabilities having an increased risk of developing dementia, we were pleased when our Dementia Community Coordinator received an invite to the grand opening of Deer Park Villa’s new day program facility. The program supports people with intellectual disabilities from Ituna and the surrounding areas. Warren Kaeding, the MLA for Melville, Saltcoats, and surrounding areas was in attendance, as well as the Mayor of Ituna, residents from Ituna, and visitors from Kelliher, Leross, Sheho, and other nearby communities.

Our Dementia Community Coordinator shared Alzheimer Society resources and information about the Dementia Supports in Rural Saskatchewan project with event attendees and Deer Park Villa staff. Rene Dubreuil, the Mayor of Ituna, noted how Deer Park Villa is the second largest employer in Ituna and for them to have a connection with the Alzheimer Society for dementia education is so important.

We hope to continue our conversations with Deer Park Villa and wish them continued success with their new day program facility!

ABC’s of Dementia presentation in Melville

“I work with adults with disabilities so the presentation in Melville was very informative. I will use the knowledge that she shared everyday to watch for early signs in any clients, as their risk is often higher. Also, knowing all the resources available for people is vital for caregivers and our community.”  

- Attendee, Melville’s ABC’s of Dementia presentation on July 18, 2022

On July 18^th, our Dementia Community Coordinator facilitated our ABC’s of Dementia – Warning Signs presentation for 38 guests from Melville and the neighbouring communities. Attendees were very engaged with the information and many stayed after the presentation to ask further questions about prevention and risk reduction.

Yorkton Pharmasave

Yorkton Pharmasave has been working with our Dementia Community Coordinator over the past few months to enhance how they serve those living with dementia and their care partners.

To date, some of the dementia friendly considerations they have implemented in their business include:

• Hosting a staff education session with our Dementia Community Coordinator to increase their knowledge of dementia warning signs and strategies of how to support someone living with dementia;
• Ensuring all staff have read our Dementia Friendly Communities Toolkit – Pharmacies edition;
• Completing an environmental scan of their store with our Dementia Community Coordinator to determine physical adjustments that can be made for added dementia friendliness,
• Adapting fonts to be more visually accessible on medication sheets that are provided with dementia care prescriptions;
• Offering our Alzheimer Society Companion/Independence Cards for those who may require extra support from time to time.

We applaud the efforts of the whole team at Yorkton Pharmasave – the willingness of every staff member to engage with our resources and dementia friendly information is inspiring.

We encourage other businesses and organizations to get in touch with us to learn how taking small steps towards becoming more dementia friendly can make a big difference in clients' and customers’ quality of life.