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1117 NOVEMBER
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by madeline rathle
alzheimer
?s services of the capital area connect / l o c a l p r o f i l e imagine waking up every day and your daughter and husband are strangers to you. this is the reality for 5.5 million americans diagnosed with
alzheimer
?s disease. not only is this terrifying for the diagnosed, but it is also something friends and family must face.
alzheimer
?s services of the capital area has dedicated the past 34 years to teaching, caring for, and connecting with caregivers and individuals experiencing
alzheimer
?s and other memory- related disorders. ?rough efforts like financial literacy programs, lunchtime speakers, and
charlie
?s
place
, people who live with this disease can learn to navigate the sometimes confusing world of
alzheimer
?s. ??e mental picture of
alzheimer
?s is an invalid laying in bed who can?t remember anything, but that?s not what it is,? says barbara auten, executive director of
alzheimer
?s services of the capital area. ??ere is a good bit of time where those people can really engage in society and have meaningful days.?
charlie
?s
place
activity and respite center, a person-centered care program, was a product of this thought process and provides a home-like experience for participants. activities like pet therapy, cooking with the ?
charlie
?s
place
culinary school,? and games with friends stimulate cognition and socialization, encouraging a purposeful six-hour day. auten?s favorite
charlie
?s
place
memory is a grumpy older gentleman who came to a lzheimer?s services of the capital area practically a couch potato. as he became comfortable with the program and bonded with the people there, he began to open up and became verbal, active, and engaged. he mentioned once that he wanted to see the golden gate bridge before he died, so auten bought him a book with 100 pictures of the bridge. he entered the program in september, and by november, the man?s son was thanking
charlie
?s
place
for giving him his dad back. by december, the man was playing santa for the organization?s pre-k partners, letting them sit on his lap and asking them what they wanted for christmas. ??is is why i come to work every day,? auten says. ?we don?t get to know them before the dementia. we only see them in their state of dementia, but they are just wonderful people with a lot to give.?
charlie
?s
place
in baton rouge is a four- time recipient of the excellence in care dementia program of distinction from the
alzheimer
?s foundation of america and has been recognized as a premier adult day center by the national adult day services association. every staff member is a qualified dementia care provider through the
alzheimer
?s foundation of america. after so much success, it comes as no surprise that a second
charlie
?s
place
,
charlie
?s
place
ii, opened in gonzales in 3 6 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7
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