Alzheimer?s Association moves to new location

A bigger office, a larger budget, another employee and additional services are some of the improvements the southwest Missouri chapter of the Alzheimer's Association has recently experienced.

The association has nearly doubled its space, moving from approximately 1,100 square feet at 2021 S. Waverly to a 2,000-square-foot space in the Glen Isle Center at 1500 S. Glenstone.

According to Patty Ingle, executive director of the association, the association has seen its budget grow 800 percent since 1997.

Budget

In fiscal year 1997, the budget was $50,696, in fiscal year 2001, it was $291,000, and the budget for this fiscal year is $414,000.

Seventy percent to 75 percent of the monies received are used for providing programs, services and educational support for the 22,000 families affected by the disease in the southwest Missouri chapter's service area.

The rest of the money is used for administrative purposes such as salaries and overhead. The new office provides much needed space for training people to learn about the disease, additional space for the library, general workspace and a room that offers privacy to families receiving counseling.

Staffing

Judy Steward, a part-time employee for the past year, will go full-time beginning next month.

She was overseeing special events such as the Memory Walk, but when she goes full-time, her energies will be devoted to meeting the community's educational needs. Steward has a degree in gerontology.

Ellen Hammock was just hired as development director.

She is responsible for the newsletter, special events such as the Memory Walk and Wines to Remember, and outreach to the communities the association serves.

Kathy Firl, who has been with the association for almost three years, serves as the program director.

Firl, a registered nurse, oversees programs such as Respite Care and Safe Return. Patsy Harris is the association's office manager.

Programs

The Respite Care program allows a caregiver to take a break from caring for someone with Alzheimer's. The southwest Missouri chapter can provide up to $450 a year in respite care per caregiver, and a background check is done on all respite care providers.

The Safe Return program has helped families and other caregivers find Alzheimer's patients who have wandered away.

Nationwide, 98 percent of the people registered in the Safe Return program have been returned to the places from which they wandered.

The program utilizes identification bracelets imprinted with an 800 number. The number connects the caller to an office in St. Louis.

The office in St. Louis then lets the authorities know that a person in the program has been located.

The cost of the bracelet and enrollment in the Safe Return program is $40. There are some scholarships available through the southwest Missouri chapter. Part of the program is funded through a grant that comes from the Community Foun-dation of the Ozarks.

Ingle said the southwest Missouri chapter is striving to provide programs and services for the 29 counties it serves.

"We've been able to establish more services in Joplin in the last year," she said. "We've been holding monthly caregivers seminars at the library and making our library materials available at Northpark Mall. We're seeking ways to reach out to the eastern part of the state."

Fund raising

Ingle said the association's larger budget is the result of growth in its special fund-raising events.

For the first time ever, the southwest Missouri chapter hosted a wine tasting, Wines to Remember, that included a silent auction. The event, which was held at the Tower Club, raised $47,000. The Alzheimer's Association is already planning for next year's event.

The first Joplin Memory Walk was held last year. The participants raised $14,000. This year's walk will be held Sept. 15.

The Springfield Memory Walk will be held Sept. 29 at Phelps Grove Park, and the goal for this year's event is $75,000. Last year's event raised $68,000.

Carol Jones, of Carol Jones, Realtors, is serving as the honorary chair of this year's Memory Walk. Jones, who recently lost a friend to the disease, is putting together teams of people to walk at the event.

Expanding services

The goal of the southwest Missouri chapter, Ingle said, is to continue to expand its services and add a branch office in Joplin and West Plains.

"They're making great strides in curing this disease," she said. "The latest thing scientists are working on is a vaccine, which hasn't been approved. We'd like to put ourselves out of business."