{"id":19862,"date":"2018-09-24T11:11:45","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/?p=19862"},"modified":"2018-09-24T11:11:45","modified_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:11:45","slug":"partnership-provides-services-for-seniors-with-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/partnership-provides-services-for-seniors-with-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership Provides Services for Seniors with Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nAt the Golden Corner Respite Care program in Seneca, Clemson doctoral student Caitlin Torrence sat next to a woman with Alzheimer\u2019s who rarely spoke. Torrence began humming Christmas music, and for the first time, she heard the woman\u2019s voice as she sang the words to the song.
\nTorrence and Clemson\u2019s Institute for Engaged Aging<\/a> director Cheryl Dye are hoping for this same kind of success in a new dementia care program they started in September in Central.
\nDye co-authored a $48,500 grant proposal with Pickens County Meals on Wheels<\/a> that was funded by the S.C. Lieutenant Governor\u2019s Office on Aging Improvement Grant to reopen the Central Community Center, where services had not been offered since 2014. Thanks to a $20,000 Alzheimer\u2019s Resource Coordination Center grant, the program known as the Brain Health Club has the necessary start-up funding.
\n\u201cThrough this partnership with Pickens County Meals on Wheels, IEA and the Town of Central, there will now be a place where seniors in the area can go for meals, exercise classes and dementia care,\u201d Dye said.
\nThe new program in Central will address the needs of local residents living with dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s. In Pickens County, there are approximately two thousand people living with Alzheimer\u2019s or dementia, according to the South Carolina Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Registry<\/a>. \u00a0Dye said there is a need for more senior care as the aging population grows due to the aging baby boomer generation and the expected rise of dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s diagnoses.
\nTom Cloer, Central\u2019s assistant town manager and long-time advocate for senior services, said he\u2019s excited to see people using the building, which has been renovated with a new HVAC system and roof, as well as additional upgrades.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re glad we\u2019re able to be a part of this partnership and fill this gap in services,\u201d Cloer said. \u201cThis is something the Town of Central couldn\u2019t do on its own. This partnership is able to fill the need for senior services.\u201d
\nThis program consists of research-based activities to promote brain health and combat the symptoms of dementia, which can make seniors feel isolated, Torrence said. These activities include music therapy, arts and crafts, best-practice therapeutic cognitive exercises from the Alzheimer\u2019s Association along with language recall and exercise.
\n\u201cWe want to give them a space where they can feel safe and still experience life and joy and do things that are meaningful, and cognitively stimulating,\u201d Torrence said. \u201cJust because you have a disease, doesn\u2019t mean your life is over.\u201d
\nThe program also serves as a Creative Inquiry<\/a> class for Clemson students. Since fall 2014, students have worked with IEA faculty and doctoral students to deliver dementia care program at the Greenville Health System Center for Success in Aging, two churches in Seneca and a local retirement community.\u00a0Now the dementia program has a permanent home at the Central Community Center.
\n\u201cThis is one way IEA is addressing older adult needs while also advancing faculty and doctoral student research as well as the undergraduate educational experience,\u201d Dye said.<\/p>\n

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