June 13, 2017

Dementia Friendly Efforts in El Dorado

On April 24, 2017, ten employees from HealthWorks Fitness Center and four employees from LifeTouch Hospice attended an afternoon of training designed to help educate members of the community on how to involve and interact with people living with dementia. This training was sponsored by the South Arkansas Center on Aging Education Office, and was presented by Program Coordinator Bethany Cheatham, RN and Education Coordinator Lori DeWese.

The successful completion of this education is part of a larger initiative to make El Dorado and its surrounding communities “Dementia Friendly” following the nationally acclaimed model of Dementia Friendly America® (DFA). This initiative is being championed by the South Arkansas Center on Aging Education Center, which functions as the community education and caregiver support partner with the Senior Health Clinic. As the number of people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia increases exponentially over the coming decades, the need to prepare communities across our country in how to best care for these individuals is paramount. In addition to training 342 healthcare professionals and first responders, a committee comprised of over 15 individuals from the many business and organizational sectors of the community was formed in the Fall of 2016 with the goal of making El Dorado dementia friendly. “Through the work of over 35 national, leading organizations, the Dementia Friendly America® initiative is catalyzing a movement to more effectively support and serve those across America who are living with dementia and their family and friend care partners. The lead organizations represent all sectors of the community and are collectively leveraging their national reach to activate their local affiliates, members and branches to convene, participate in and support dementia friendly community efforts at a local level” (dfamerica.org).

For more information on how you can become a part of “Dementia Friendly Arkansas”, call our center at 870-881-8969.