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The Alzheimer’s Association East Central Iowa Chapter is here to help |
Helpline
The Alzheimer's Association Helpline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in 140 languages. Our staff is highly trained and knowledgeable about all aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. Call us if you have questions about:
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Alzheimer’s disease or memory loss, medications and treatment options, brain health and care options
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How the Association can help you
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Caregiving tips and respite care options
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Services available in your community and referrals
You can also call us for emotional support –– as often as you need. We know that living with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming at times. Remember, we are here for you –– all day, every day.
Care consultation
Our professional staff members are dedicated to helping people navigate through the difficult decisions and uncertainties people with Alzheimer’s and their families face at every stage of the disease. We can provide care consultation services to you by telephone, e-mail or in person. These include:
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Assessment of needs
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Assistance with planning and problem solving
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Supportive listening
If you would like to meet for an in-person care consultation, please schedule an appointment by calling 1.800.272.3900 or by emailing tracey.robertson@alz.org
Support groups
We offer a variety of support groups for all individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease. Groups are facilitated by trained volunteers. Many locations offer specialized groups for children, those with early-onset and early-stage Alzheimer’s, adult caregivers and others with specific needs.
Message boards
The Alzheimer’s Association message boards and chat rooms provide an online community for persons with Alzheimer's, caregivers and care providers. Our message boards have thousands of registered members from around the United States and thousands more who refer to the stories and information that is available 24 hours a day.
Join the Alzheimer’s Association online community.
Publications
The Alzheimer’s Association offers dozens of fact sheets and brochures. Click here for a listing.
We also maintain a variety of educational materials (brochures, videos, audiotapes and books) on topics related to Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. To learn more about our library, call us at 1.800.272.3900.
Click here to view the East Central Iowa Chapter Brochure.
Caregiver Notebook
The Alzheimer's Association Caregiver Notebook, published by Meredith Corporation, can help a caregiver manage the challenges of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.
The notebook’s easy-to-follow format contains tips for care and planning for the future, as well as a list of resources to use when additional information is needed. Each of its eight chapters has a section to write notes or thoughts, making this book a personal record that can be referenced again and again.
Chapters include:
• Taking good care of yourself
• Understanding an Alzheimer diagnosis
• Basics of Alzheimer’s disease
• Legal and financial planning
• Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s
The notebook will be available through Shop for the Cause for $17.95 plus shipping beginning Nov. 1, in time for National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. To learn more about the Caregiver Notebook, visit www.alz.org/caregivernotebook.
Coach Broyles' Playbook
Coach Frank Broyles, Athletic Director of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, gives his personal perspective on caregiving in a football "playbook" style guide titled, Coach Broyles' Playbook in Alzheimer's Caregiving. Coach Broyles cared for his late wife Barbara, who had Alzheimer's disease.
For information on how to order up to 3 FREE playbooks, contact the chapter office at 319.294.9699.
Newsletter
Now available to view online. Click here to read new and past newsletters.
Sign up for our quarterly newsletter. Call us at 1.800.272.3900 or 319.294.9699.
Sign up now via email: lindsey.driscoll@alz.org
E-News
Sign up for our monthly E-News letter from Executive Director, Kelly Hauer. To receive E-News, please call 1.800.272.3900.
Sign up now via email: kelly.hauer@alz.org
Educational programs
We offer many educational programs each year that address the specific interests of the general public, individuals with the disease and their families.
Professional training
We offer classroom and Web-based training for healthcare supervisors and direct care workers in assisted living and nursing homes. Many programs allow you to earn CEUs.
Professional training listings.
Multilingual information
Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders that cause dementia know no boundaries. Many individuals and families in ethnic and cultural minority groups are in need of solid information about Alzheimer’s disease and health resources.
Medic Alert and Safe Return®
MedicAlert® + Alzheimer's Association Safe Return® is a nationwide identification, support and enrollment program that provides assistance when someone with Alzheimer's or a related dementia wanders and becomes lost. Assistance is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If an enrollee is missing, one phone call immediately activates a community support network to help reunite the lost person with his or her caregiver.
The Alzheimer's Association East Central Iowa Chapter also offers FREE MedicAlert® + Safe Return® training sessions for law enforcement officers. The program is titled "Tactics for Encountering Someone with Alzheimer's disease".
To register, contact Tracey Robertson at 1.800.272.3900 (registrations made by phone must reference code 8311) or by email at tracey.robertson@alz.org. Online registration is available here.
Learn more about law enforcement training opportunities.
Local resources and referrals
We maintain updated information on home care, adult day care, care coordination, assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, eldercare lawyers, transportation and more available in the areas we serve. Our staff and trained professionals can also help assess whether a specific care provider meets the needs of an individual with Alzheimer’s.
Click here for a complete listing of services near you
For more information, please contact us:
By phone: 1.800.272.3900
By e-mail: tracey.robertson@alz.org
Clinical trials index
Local clinical trials
Gammaglobulin Alzheimer's Partnership (GAP) Study
Have you (or someone you know) been diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease? If you are between the ages of 50-89 years old, have been diagnosed with probable mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, and have a partner (spouse, child, sibling or other caregiver) who can be present at every study visit, then you are eligible to participate in this study.
This is a 20-month study including 46 total visits lasting from 2-5 hours per visit. Participation is voluntary, and compensation is available. For more information, please contact Karen Ekstam Smith at the University of Iowa College of Medicine at 319-353-5158.
Click here to read participant flyer
Click here to read participant letter
Memory Loss Lending Library
The Alzheimer's Association East Central Iowa Chapter offers two lending libraries with dementia related materials for all individuals affected by dementia including individuals with dementia, families and professional caregivers. For materials in Cedar Rapids, please call 319.294.9699. For materials in Cedar Falls, please call 319.277.4100.
Alzheimer's Association CareSource™
The Alzheimer's Association now offers a number of additional resources collectively titled, Alzheimer's Association CareSource™, to better assist you in finding appropriate care for your loved one. The Alzheimer's Association CareSource™ includes Senior Housing Finder, Lotsa Helping Hands, Carefinder, a Caregivers Message Board, and Caregiving 101.
Click here for further information
Pardon My Companion cards
We know it can be difficult to explain behaviors brought on by Alzheimer's to those you do not know or are unfamiliar with the disease. To ease this challenge, we offer Pardon My Companion cards. They are notes in business card form to discreetly alert others that your companion may exhibit unusual behavior due to Alzheimer's disease. Simply pass others your card and save yourself the stress of explanation.
To request Pardon My Companion cards, please contact us at 1.800.272.3900 or via email at tracey.robertson@alz.org.
