More services, support planned for Alzheimer's caregivers

Nov. 26--Alzheimer's caregiver support and education organization Remember For Me kicked off Alzheimer's Awareness Month with its GoPurple Rally on Nov. 1.

But, even though the month is now drawing to a close, RFM is poised to continue its efforts into the new year.

In 2020, the group plans to go live with two new services for caregivers, lawn care and light house keeping, both of which will be offered for free.

"We understand that when you're a caregiver, a lot of times you just don't have the time to keep the house as clean as you'd like it to be or tend to your yard, but it's a point of pride for a lot of people so we want to offer these services," RFM co-founder Julie Horn said at the GoPurple Rally earlier this month.

Also, early this coming year -- on Jan. 21, Feb. 1 and Feb. 18 -- the organization will host three different seminars at Wesley United Methodist Church, titled "Alzheimer's The Known & Unknown."

"We're still getting a couple of speakers finalized, but we will have a woman on the Alzheimer's Speaker's Bureau who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, herself, who will speak to us about life after diagnosis," Horn told the Herald-Banner. "We will also have presentations over things like legal issues and power of attorney, and nutrition."

Later, in 2020, RFM will host its annual caregivers luncheon on March 10 at the Texan Theater and its education symposium in the Fall at Texas A&M University-Commerce. The education symposium will feature experts in the field of Alzheimer's and dementia who will speak to both family and professional caregivers, and the seminars will all be free to attend.

The members of RFM are also pleased at two recent pieces of legislation that could have a major impact on the quality of life for those with Alzheimer's.

One of them, the Building Our Largest Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act (BOLD), has already passed through both the United States House and the Senate, and has been signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The other, which is called the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, has been approved by the House but has not yet cleared the Senate.

BOLD deals with creating a public health infrastructure to address Alzheimer's, while the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act is mostly concerned with enhancing research and informing patients and families about hospice and pain relief.

In addition to the mentioned events, RFM plans to continue its monthly support group, which meets at 6 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at Hunt Regional Medical Center in the sixth floor boardroom.

"We've had a few new members join us at the last couple of support group meetings, so we're happy that more people know about us and are reaching out," Horn said.

___

(c)2019 The Herald Banner (Greenville, Texas)

Visit The Herald Banner (Greenville, Texas) at www.heraldbanner.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.