Upcoming Workshops on Dementia: In Nelson on January 25; February 16, 23 and March 2, 2017

November 30th Board Update: #voteforTEETH, Resource Centre, Home Care Outreach

TEETH is in FIRST PLACE

We are so excited that after 2 weeks of voting. TEETH is in first place in the Pacific Blue Cross completion to win $50.000. We want to thank everyone who is voting and sharing the video so that we can continue to provide low cost dental in the Kootenay and Boundary area.  The final day for voting is December 6, 2015.

 Have you visited the Resource Centre at Community First Health Co-op at 518 Lake Street?  We now have 20 health related organizations that provide information kiosks or hold their meeting there.

OverEaters Anonymous meets on Wednesdays at Noon and T.O.P.S meets on Monday at 5:30 pm.

The Alzheimer Society hosts regular sessions on a variety of dates and the Breast Cancer Survivor group also meets in our Resource Room.

The Resource Centre is staffed from Monday to Friday 1-4 with volunteers.   Lonnie Facchina is our Volunteer Coordinator and if you would like to volunteer please contact her

Lonnie.facchina@mssociety.ca  or 250-505-3997

We were pleased to announce that the Seniors Co-ordinating Society has been awarded a Columbia Basin Trust donation to be able to hire a person to co-ordinate the Home Care outreach. This will go a long way to ensuring that Home Care continues to be provided in our community.

And do not forget to save April 16, 2016 for our Passport to Wellness 2 Health Fair.  

Thanks for stopping by... and don't forget to Vote for TEETH.


Marion, Erin and Eric

Affordable Housing, Low Cost Dental and Added Support for the Alzheimer Society at the November Health Co-op Board Meeting

Wow, how did November arrive so quickly?  With -2 and scraping windows it seems that the long fall is heading early into winter. 

Community First Health Co-op held their monthly Board meeting with most of us present and here are some highlights.

The Lake Street Housing Committee met earlier this month  with Nelson Council member Michael Dailly to begin a discussion around housing options and needs within the region. We would like to thank him for his time and we had a great talk about some of the initiatives in Nelson and some of the unmet needs, such as housing for the working poor. We also had a chance to brainstorm some ideas around Land Trusts and lease-holds and will continue our work in that area.

TEETH our low cost Dental initiative is booming. We had over 300 visits in the past year and it continues to grow in services offered. It has been short listed for a financial award and we are just awaiting information on the voting procedure.  Once we know it check out our blog and website and facebook pages so you can learn how to vote so that we can win the award and the financial prize to enhance our work in this much needed area.

Thanks to Julia Leffelaar of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. for volunteering to not only provide workshops, but to also volunteer to be in the resource center for one Friday each month to provide support to our community.  Julie will be available, in the resource centre on theses dates:  Dec 11, January 8, Feb 12 and March 11. We are still looking for volunteers for 3 Friday afternoons a month.

We also want to welcome a new member to our partners in the building Elephant Mountain Counselling.  Here is the link:

http://elephantmountaincounselling.ca/

Take care and get out and enjoy the brisk fall air!!

Eric, Marion and Erin

Alzheimer Society of B.C. - Understanding Behaviour & Communication. A Workshop, for Caregivers, on Thursday, November 19th, 2015 in Nelson

What is dementia?

Dementia is an overall term for a set of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain. Symptoms may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language, severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. A person with dementia may also experience changes in mood or behaviour.

Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse as more brain cells become damaged and eventually die.

Dementia is not a specific disease. Many diseases can cause dementia, the most common being Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia (due to strokes). Some of the other causes of dementia include Lewy Body disease, head trauma, fronto-temporal dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. These conditions can have similar and overlapping symptoms.

Some treatable conditions can produce symptoms similar to dementia, for example, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid disease, sleep disorders, or mental illness. It is therefore important to arrange for a full medical assessment as early as possible.

Getting a timely diagnosis can help you access information, resources and support through the Alzheimer Society, benefit from treatment, and plan ahead.


Marion and I have both attended some of Julie's workshops and have found them very interesting and educational.  If you have a chance to attend - please take advantage of Julie's expertise.

Eric and Marion