Alzheimer’s expert to give program during Tuesday dinner at Faith Mennonite

Ask anyone what they fear most about aging, and it will be the possibility they might lose their memories, their sense of who they are and have been. Basically, we worry about losing our mental faculties.

Kidron Bethel Health Care in North Newton is the only Kansas facility — one of 13 in the country — to implement the experience and sensory-focused Life Enrichment therapy for addressing memory loss caused by dementia and/or Alzheimer’s.

Created by nationally recognized consultants and instructors Erin and Chris Bonitto, the system is nationally acclaimed for helping memory-care providers offer a life of genuine “pleasure, purpose and peace” in addition to reducing falls, and decreasing the use of psychotropic drugs.

Erin Bonitto will be the keynote speaker and will demonstrate her award-winning therapy programs at Kidron Bethel Village’s 13th Annual Builders’ Banquet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Faith Mennonite Church.

Bonitto’s program focuses on the parts of the dementia-affected brain that still function — including procedural memories, long-term memories, automatic responses and social strengths.

Residents in varying stages of cognitive decline — whether from dementia or Alzheimer’s — can experience pleasure, purpose and peace by utilizing this life-enrichment model which compliments medical and prescriptive therapies.

These are just three brief introductions to stories of Kidron Bethel Health Care Centre residents who benefit from the Bonitto created small-group therapy programs for persons with Alzheimer’s or dementia:

• She places her hands in the dirt, examines flower bulbs and picks up a watering can, eliciting pleasant memories of gardening. She begins to talk about her own flowerbeds and garden when she lived on the farm.

• He’s agitated and angry, but when redirected to a collection of PVC pipe pieces and connectors, he shows the activity director how to join the pieces. Afterward, he is laughing and congenial.

• She laughs, swinging a baseball bat. Her family is sent a photo of her holding a baseball glove. They are delighted to see the joy on her face and the light in her eyes in spite of her ongoing struggle with cognitive decline.

November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and worldwide, it is estimated about 16 million people have Alzheimer’s disease, 4.5 million are Americans. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and accounts for at least half of all dementias. It causes about 23,000 deaths a year in the United States, making it the eighth leading cause of death in the elderly population. Alzheimer’s disease is named after the German physician who identified it in 1907. The cause of Alzheimer’s remains elusive and resistant to treatment. People over the age of 65 are most frequently affected by Alzheimer’s and it is termed “late onset.” A very rare form of Alzheimer’s disease, so-called “early onset,” can develop in people as young as 40 years and in middle age.

“This program is a gift that allows us to help our residents recover memories,” said Beth Penner, activity director. “We want to help residents remember more of the happiest times of their lives.”

For information, contact Dee Ann Hein, 284-2900 ext. 237.