GHENT – Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, announces the Granite Falls Living at Home Block Nurse Program will receive state grant funding to assist in its efforts to support people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and those who care for them.
The Minnesota Board on Aging awarded $18,044 to Living at Home. The funds are from a $750,000 appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature to support grants for organizations such as Living at Home throughout the state. The grant goals include increasing access to memory screenings and training, heightening cultural responsiveness and working with health care providers to improve services.
“Alzheimer’s is a growing issue in our society, with state officials reporting more Minnesotans will turn 65 this decade than the four previous decades combined,” Swedzinski said. “But, in reality, the layered impacts of Alzheimer’s reach far beyond seniors and affect us all one way or another. The funds the Legislature provided will be valuable in supporting a wide spectrum of people, with consideration given to cultural norms and values that are part of the equation.”
The Minnesota Department of Human Services indicates the Granite Falls organization’s grant will help to “reduce stigma through Dementia Friends training, support to caregivers through a memory café and the Respite Education and Support Tools (REST) program and to host virtual dementia tours and a memory choir, all while being culturally responsive to the Upper Sioux American Indian community.”
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