Blog
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Creating a Dementia Friendly Community
With over 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, the volunteer driven ACT on Alzheimer’s understands the need for their services. This number will continue to rise as those in the baby boomer generation continue to enter the age of greatest risk for Alzheimer’s disease, creating a public health crisis and our state is not…
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Dementia’s Evolution: Negative and Positive Changes are Possible
It can be surprising that features of memory loss may include anger, agitation and peace, calm. There is a broad assumption that memory decline usually includes fear, anger and agitation, which is only partly true. During our support groups, we often talk about the grief in witnessing such changes. One recent night, however, the daughter…
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Support Groups Make a Crucial Difference in the Quality of Caregivers’ Lives
They are our neighbors, friends, siblings and co-workers, thrust into caregiving roles with little notice or preparation. Their loved ones may be dealing with dementia or the aftermath of a stroke. They struggle daily with grief and other issues, while trying to figure out the practicalities of a life that feels like it’s turned upside…
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Memory Screenings
At Emerald Crest, we are proud to offer Memory Screening to help enhance the quality of life of those suffering from memory loss by diagnosing the disease early on. Good health starts with the brain, and we strive to ensure that everyone has the care they need to live the most valuable life possible. What…
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Interacting with Individuals Who Have Memory Loss
With our newly launched Memory Cafés we thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about memory loss and how to interact with individuals who live with it. We recently reached out to Jenny LaVoi, Director of Cognitive Care Program at Emerald Crest by Augustana Care, for her thoughts on how best to interact and communicate with individuals…
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How Spiritual Care Supports Those with Memory Loss
When we embrace vulnerability in our loved ones and ourselves, it can lead to wholeness and spiritual strength. I am kind of a health nut – I do things daily that I hope will protect me from disease and slow the aging process. Yet even with a healthy lifestyle we all become physically vulnerable as we age.…
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Serving Our Families Together
In an amazing collaboration between Augustana Care Open Circle Adult Day Services, Emerald Crest by Augustana Care in Minnetonka, and Joyful Companions Home Care, Serving Our Families Together (SOFT) presents their annual caregiver forum. This free event, the Caregiver Toolbox: Practical Tools and Approaches for the Caregiver offers helpful information and resources for caregivers. With a mission to provide support, resources and…
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Memory Loss: Shining a Light
How Spiritual Practice Lights the Way for Those with Memory Loss During the Holiday Season We are in entering a season in which people literally hang lights everywhere to counteract the long dark days of coming winter. Sparkling lights outline the dark bulky shapes of homes and businesses. Showy garlands of lights are strung up…
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Is Being Home for the Holidays Not as Nostalgic as You Remember?
As the holidays approach, we find ourselves looking forward to celebrating with those we love. For many, the holidays are a time to visit and reconnect with family we may not see throughout the year. Going “home for the holidays” is an event that is anticipated all year long, but for many adult children returning home, the…
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Growing Support Groups: Learning Together, Helping Each Other
Emerald Crest offers support groups for dementia caregivers on the second Tuesday of each month. In the late 1960s, my father, Pastor Bill Smith was a pastor in a large congregation in Minneapolis. As a Pastor during this time, he saw the need for pastoral care sharply increase, due in part to the shifts in…