Becker received a grant through ACT on Alzheimer’s to examine the community’s dementia readiness and help create a dementia-friendly environment in Becker. 

 

Becker is one of 13 new action communities working to prepare Minnesota for the growing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.  The Alzheimer’s Association estimates there are 88,000 Minnesotans age 65 and older with the disease and many thousands more with other dementias. And the disease touches many others, as evidenced by the 245,000 family members and friends who are caregivers. 

 

“The new communities will build on the exciting work being done by 19 existing communities statewide,” said Olivia Mastry, executive lead for ACT on Alzheimer’s. “The goal is to provide a supportive environment for everyone touched by dementia and their caregivers, allowing people to live in their communities for as long as possible.”

 

ACT on Alzheimer’s is a volunteer-driven, statewide collaboration preparing Minnesota for the personal, social and budgetary impacts of Alzheimer’s. Working with communities striving to become dementia-friendly is one of ACT’s key strategies.

 

Local efforts to build dementia-friendly communities now are border-to-border in Minnesota, with community leaders, organizations and residents coming together in geographic-based communities and communities of shared ethnic and cultural interests. 

 

“We look forward to starting the ACT on Alzheimer’s process in Becker,” said Tami Kolbinger, project leader of the Becker action team. “Supporting our community members with Alzheimer’s and other dementias and their caregivers will do tremendous good for the community as a whole.”

 

“As the population of Minnesota ages, it’s important to build awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s,” said Mastry.  “Some of the most exciting practices will emerge from the work happening in communities. Having a dementia-friendly community means that care partners are supported and people with Alzheimer’s can stay out of residential care settings longer. That helps everyone – families and taxpayers who pay for institutional care, employers who have workers trying to balance work and caregiving demands, and most importantly, the people living with dementia.”

 

In addition to Becker (Becker School District), new communities include Cloquet, East Iron Range (cities of Aurora, Biwabik, and Hoyt Lakes), Mankato and North Mankato, Re-Membering Matters at Mille Lacs (Onamia and Isle School Districts), Paynesville (Paynesville Area School District),  Redwood Falls, Rochester (downtown area), Sauk Rapids, and Stillwater area, along with Centro (reaching Twin Cities Latino populations), NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center/Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller (reaching North Minneapolis populations), and St. Paul African-American Faith Community.

 

Becker grant is funded through Blue Plus (an HMO affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota), the Medica Foundation, and Greater Twin Cities United Way and administered by the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging.