Initiatives Beneficial to the Community
Dementia Education, Inc. is dedicated to identifying and funding projects, publications, and events that will fulfill its mission to educate care partners and the public at large in a better and more accurate understanding of memory disorders. Though we have no geographical limitation, to date our board of directors has focused its attention and resources on Citrus County, choosing to concentrate benefits and achievements “at home.” Please, check back occasionally to read about our latest projects or works-in-progress.
Fourteenth Initiative:
Initiated April 2023 and ongoing
Art from the Heart Memory Café
Art from the Heart is a memory café featuring both art and music that was initiated by the Citrus Memorial Hospital YMCA, but discontinued during COVID. With a $3,000 grant from Dementia Education Inc., the program was re-launched in April 2023 with one meeting per month. If demand justifies expansion, additional days per month will be added.
Thirteenth Initiative:
November 2022
Dementia Awareness
in Florida State Capitol
In November 2022, Dementia Education Inc. was invited to display Coping with Dementia’s full 82-photo dementia awareness exhibit in the Rotunda at the Florida State Capitol during National Alzheimer’s Awareness Week. It was the first time the complete exhibit had ever been placed on display in a single location. For more information about this educational initiative, see the Sixth Initiative below.
Twelfth Initiative:
Initiated September 2022
Lecanto High School Dementia Awareness Club
During 2022, Junior and Senior students at the Lecanto, Florida, High School created an extracurricular Dementia Awareness Club consisting of a dozen members. Dementia Education Inc. has advised the club in developing a program that includes education and care training, provided pro bono by Coping with Dementia LLC, and voluntary service at memory care facilities throughout Citrus County. To help launch the club, Dementia Education Inc. provided a $1,000 grant that was used for “Brain Bags” filled with educational literature. Club members had to complete training to earn their Brain Bags. Dementia Education Inc. sees this relationship as a learning opportunity through which we can develop a program and process that can be implemented in any high school that wants it.
Eleventh Initiative:
Adopted 2022 and ongoing
Creating a Better Baker Act
For nearly a decade, Coping with Dementia LLC has sought opportunities to eliminate or reduce the abuses that Florida’s Baker Act often causes for individuals living with dementia. With Citrus County government beginning a conversation to build a new Baker Act receiving center, Dementia Education Inc. saw the opportunity to put its resources behind a “Better Baker Act” campaign. For this purpose, a report has been developed that contains four specific evidence-based recommendations to be incorporated in any new facility. Dementia Education has also pledged $25,000 for the fulfillment of these recommendations. To learn more about this Initiative, go to our Better Bake Act Facebook Page or acquire our report, “Creating a Better Baker Act” at Amazon. Click below for the link.
Tenth Initiative:
Initiated June 2022
Compassionate Care Kits
Early in 2022, the Citrus County Libraries developed a plan to create Compassionate Care Kits that can be checked out by families living with dementia. These kits, built around 14 different themes, contain literature, art, and objects that can entertain, mentally stimulate, and help maintain the interest and manual dexterity of individuals living with dementia. Twenty-five kits were assembled, thanks to a $3,000 grant from Dementia Education Inc. To learn more, click below.
Ninth Initiative:
May 2022
Free distribution of “Coping with Dementia”
In March, 2022, Coping with Dementia LLC published its namesake book of more than 70 editorials by Debbie Selsavage that have appeared in the Citrus County Chronicle since February, 2016. Because this book addresses as a whole the philosophy, principles, and practices of Person-Centered Compassionate Care, Dementia Education Inc. decided to provide free funding to provide free copies to attendees at the 8th Annual Coping with Dementia Care Partner Conference in May 2022, as well as other appropriate events. More than 200 copies were distributed during the subsequent 12 months. The book is available at Amazon in print for $24.95 an d in Kindle digital at $2.99. To purchase or for more information, click below.
Eighth Initiative:
February 2022 and continuing
Support for Senior Day Care
The nonprofit Key Elder Care is the only adult day care program in Citrus County licensed by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration that provides services for individuals living with dementia. To support and encourage this initiative, in 2022 Dementia Education, Inc. provided funding of $3,000 to subsidize the cost of this valuable service for families that might not otherwise afford the cost of service. In 2023, a second grant of $3,000 was provided. For more information about Key Elder Care, click below
Seventh Initiative:
May 2020 and continuing
Support of Family Care Conference
Since 2015, Coping with Dementia LLC has organized a free annual Family Care Partner Conference. The event, which attracts 200 or more attendees per year, has been both on-site and virtual, but in 2022 it included both: a one-day event for the citizens of Citrus County, and live streaming on the internet. Since 2020, Dementia Education has been a funding sponsor for this event.
Sixth Initiative:
Initiated 2020 and continuing
Assistance with deployment
of Dementia Education Photo Exhibit
In 2014, Coping with Dementia LLC began to develop a traveling photo exhibit to educate the public about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of Dementia. This exhibit has grown from 24 framed images of famous Americans who have succumbed to or are living with dementia, to more than 80 images, and has been viewed by more than a million people throughout Florida. Its flagship appearance was in the State Capitol Rotunda in Tallahassee during National Alzheimer’s Awareness Week, 2022. Since 2020, members of the board of directors of Dementia Education Inc have assisted with the scheduling, travel, and management of this exhibit.
Fifth Initiative:
September 2019 and continuing
Citrus County Strategic Planning
Citrus 2030 is a visioning project with the goal of creating Citrus County’s strategic pathway to the year 2030. Consistent with its vision to make Citrus County, Florida an internationally recognized center for dementia care practice, research, and learning, Dementia Education, Inc. is monitoring and participating in the Citrus 2030 process. To the extent that Citrus County already has a strong healthcare industry that is a leading driver of employment and its economy, the Dementia Education Inc board believes that our ambitious vision is realistic. During 2022, Citrus County refocused and intensified its strategic planning process, and we participated with two submissions arguing for the need for improved local dementia care and service in our growing county where a third of our citizens are over the age of 65. To learn more about Dementia Education’s vision of a future Care Institute, click below.
Fourth Initiative:
2020 and continuing
Dementia and Firearm Safety
In 2019, Coping with Dementia LLC published “Dementia and Firearm Safety.” Early in 2022, Dementia Education Inc. obtained grant funding to print and distribute the book in quantity, free of charge. This initiative became even more successful during 2023 when “American Rifleman,” the magazine of the National Rifle Association, designed the book an “Editor’s Choice.” Today, five firearm retailers in Citurs County help distribute this book for free, and by mid-2023 more than 1,500 have been given away. It is available at Amazon in print for $9.95 and $2.99 in Kindle digital. To purchase or for more information, click here.
Third Initiative:
August 2019 and continuing
The Citrus County Scent Kit Coalition
Seven out of ten individuals living with dementia will wander and, if not apprehended, go missing. The Citrus County Scent Kit Coalition is a public awareness initiative intended to promote the distribution and use of human scent preservation kits. “Scent Kits,” enable bloodhounds to work more quickly and efficiently by providing a pure scent of a person they are seeking. More than 10,000 Scent Kits have been distributed in Citrus County and have featured in many successful bloodhound-assisted rescues. While they are often used to safeguard individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia who wander and become lost, they are equally effective for people of any age, including school children. The Citrus County Scent Kit Coalition is a very simple idea. There are no dues and no requirements to join; only the willingness to go on record as a supporter of the use of Scent Kits. Visit our Citrus County Scent Kit Coalition Facebook Page.
Second Initiative:
May 2019 and continuing
Sponsorship of The Sheriff’s Summit
to Protect and Serve our Seniors
In 2018, Coping with Dementia LLC collaborated with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office to create an educational and training event entitled A Summit to Protect and Serve our Seniors, and invited law enforcement agencies from throughout the Nature Coast Region. Its purpose is to teach law enforcement personnel how to better understand and communicate with individuals living with dementia, and to develop and share best practices. Since 2019, Dementia Education Inc. has been a participant, and in 2021 became a funding sponsor.
First Initiative:
April 2022 and continuing
A Handbook for Dementia Friendly Congregations
In 2018, Coping with Dementia LLC published “A Hand book for Dementia Friendly Congregations,” intended to help faith-based organizations of any denomination create and maintain a “dementia friendly” environment for their members and the public at large. In April, 2022, Dementia Education Inc. obtained a grant from United Way to fund a printing of the book to be distributed free to more than 100 churches registered in Citrus County, Florida. The book is still available from Amazon $9.95. To learn more, click below.
DONATE!
Dementia Education Inc. relies entirely on grants and donations to support of better dementia education and care.
We receive no State or Federal funds. Please help us continue to make life better for individuals and families living with dementia.
Please click below to help.
"Promoting Compassionate dementia care
through education."
Contact us at:
P.O. Box 434, Inverness, Fl 34451-0434
614-519-2843 dementiaed@aol.com
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free within the State 1-800-Help-FLA (435-7352) (website FDACS.gov). Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.