Alzheimer's Café an 'exciting' new option for support - Seacoastonline.com

Program looks to assist patients and caretakers

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Brinn Chute, senior services coordinator for the city of Portsmouth, talks to a group gathered at the first Alzheimer's Cafe gathering at the Community Campus on Monday afternoon.Suzanne Laurent photo

September 29, 2013 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — Sharon Bourdon of Hampton brought her mother Ann Burnham to the Community Campus on Monday afternoon, when the city's first Alzheimer's Café was hosted by a collaboration of several local organizations.

Bourdon moved her parents up to Portsmouth from Cape Cod last year, then purchased a house in Hampton when her father died.

At a Glance

Alzheimer's Café

When: Fourth Monday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. (Oct. 28, Nov. 25, Dec. 23 and Jan. 27)

Where: Community Campus cafeteria, 100 Campus Drive, Portsmouth

For more information: Call Susan Turner at 969-5318

She was looking for senior resources for her mother, who is 74 and in the very early stages of dementia.

Just one other pair, a husband and wife from Portsmouth, attended the first Alzheimer's Café gathering. But Brinn Chute, senior services coordinator for the city of Portsmouth, is hoping the word will get out for future café events.

"There are great community agencies involved," Chute said. "It's an exciting way for people to access support in a casual and comfortable atmosphere."

In addition to the city of Portsmouth, agencies involved in the program include Families First Health & Support Center, the Mark Wentworth Home and ServiceLink.

"Usually, patients with dementia and Alzheimer's are on different paths and rarely do they connect," Chute said. "Here, both roads intersect."

Typically, life for a person with Alzheimer's disease has two paths: one being the patient's needs and the other being the caretaker's needs. The café model of support offers a welcoming place for all involved in this phase of life.

Dover and Exeter have also been successfully offering Alzheimer's Cafés, which are also known as Memory Cafés.

"There has been a rising trend of women having Alzheimer's," Chute said. "There is now an offshoot men's support group in Dover with men who have been attending the café with their wives."

The Foundation for Seacoast Health and the Green Bean restaurant are donating the space in the cafeteria of the Community Campus for the monthly gatherings. The Green Bean also provides coffee, and the collaborating organizations will take turns bringing snacks.

The group held an informal meeting during the social event Monday afternoon to introduce staff members involved with the café and to ask those who came to the first gathering what they would like to see in the future.

"This is the American model of Alzheimer's groups," said Susan Turner, outreach director for Families First. "We want to know what you would like, whether it be art projects, help finding resources or just enjoying each other's company."

Cindi Shanley of the Mark Wentworth Home spoke about the adult day program offered at the Community Campus. It is a full- or half-day of social, personal and nutritional enrichment programs geared toward the support of seniors, or those with early onset of symptoms of physical or cognitive impairments. The day program also gives caregivers a respite.

Wanda McDonough, human resources director for Families First, told the group about a free workshop series that began Sept. 25 called "The Senior Years," presented by Anne Romney, a trained facilitator for the Alzheimer's Association. The second workshop is set for Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Community Campus, and its subject is "Where Are We Going Now? Living with Dementia and Caring for the Caretaker."

Registration is required by calling 422-8202 (press 2) or at www.familiesfirstseacoast.org^[2] .

At a Glance

Alzheimer's Café

When: Fourth Monday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. (Oct. 28, Nov. 25, Dec. 23 and Jan. 27)

Where: Community Campus cafeteria, 100 Campus Drive, Portsmouth

For more information: Call Susan Turner at 969-5318

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References

1. ^{^} Buy This Photo (www.seacoastonline.com)


2. ^{^} www.familiesfirstseacoast.org (www.familiesfirstseacoast.org)


3. ^{^} Community Rules (www.seacoastonline.com)


4. ^{^} fill out this form (www.seacoastonline.com)