(Chelsea Update would like to thank Joe Yekulis for the information in this story.)
Fr. Enzo Addari, CEO of St. Louis Center & St. Louis Guanella Village, recently announced that the Board of Directors of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund approved a grant of $213,950 to support a program entitled “Montessori Inspired Lifestyle® for Older Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Dementia.”
The grant begins on Jan. 2, 2019 and runs through the end of 2020.
According to Addari, “The grant will be administered by Dr. Cameron Camp of the Center for Applied Research in Dementia (C.A.R.D.), located in Cleveland, Ohio, who believes that the Montessori Inspired Lifestyle® is a proven, measurable model in which community residents with dementia are viewed and supported as individuals with lives worth living.”
Camp said, “Like St. Louis Center does, we believe that people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia still have much to contribute. Through our partnership, we will work with St. Louis Center’s staff to produce the culture change necessary to ensure that older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are engaged and have a feeling of success and accomplishment. We will train and guide their staff in learning how to circumvent deficits in memory and executive function and bolster self-esteem.”
Chief Operating Officer Deana Fisher added, “There are several ways that this project will support our caregivers; specifically we will teach our Direct Care Professionals how to recognize the signs and symptoms of dementia in people with I/DD, train them in procedures necessary to create a culture of choice and control for people experiencing dementia, help them to empower the people in their care, ensure that those in their care have a feeling of family and community belonging and independence, and provide residents with access to meaningful activities to interact with others in a learning environment.
The Michigan Health Endowment Fund works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan residents and reduce the cost of healthcare, with a special focus on children and seniors.
More information about the Health Fund can be found at www.mhealthfund.com.
St. Louis Center has been providing residential care for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1960 and is managed by the Servants of Charity Congregation of Catholic priests.
Visit www.stlouiscenter.org for more information.
