Staff photos by Gage Cureton Elaine Spain, program developer for Minnesota River Agency on Aging, presents “Act on Alzheimer’s: Community Engagement,” a program that equips communities with tools to help those touched by Alzheimer’s Sunday.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Public Library, United Way of the Brown County Area, New Ulm Early Childhood Family Education and New Ulm Park and Recreation partnered to offer the Life Living Speaker Series and Brown County Community Read at the New Ulm Community Center.

This year’s theme, “Facing Alzheimer’s Together,” focuses on the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and how families and the community can face it together.

Sunday’s speaker session at the community center featured representatives of the Minnesota River Agency on Aging and Brown County Human Services.

Elaine Spain, program developer for the Minnesota River Agency on Aging, presented “Act on Alzheimer’s: Community Engagement,” a presentation about a community engagement program that equips communities with tools to assist those affected by dementia.

“The Act on Alzheimer’s was developed to equip communities to be dementia capable — to support residents and caregivers and families who are touched by the disease and also reduce the stigma,” Spain said. “There is still quite a bit of stigma about dementia.”

Act on Alzheimer’s, launched in June 2011, provides communities with a “tool kit” divided into a four-phase process, Spain said.

The first phase has community leaders and members convene to be educated on Alzheimer’s and dementia. Phase two assesses strengths and gaps in the community using “hands-on” surveys found in the tool kit.

There are surveys designed for each particular sector, Spain said.

She said each specialized survey is designed for different groups or organizations within a community, such as law enforcement, retail stores or hospitals. This allows for a precise gauge on how these groups assist those affected by Alzheimer’s.

The third phase reviews the findings from the surveys to help understand community needs and find high priority areas that need to be addressed.

“This is all laid out in your responses from the surveys,” Spain said. “The end result provides you a grid of high priority areas that are not costly to implement — to high priority areas that might be costly to implement.”

The final phase, Spain said, uses survey results to plan for and better equip places such as emergency rooms to assist those touched by Alzheimer’s. The surveys also help communities decide how much attention should be focused on certain areas and what methods would best fix any issues.

Approximately 50 communities across Minnesota engage in Act on Alzheimer’s. Spain said if a community is interested in engaging in the program, they must contact the Alzheimer’s Association in Minnesota or work with area agencies to help figure out who to contact.

Tom Henderson, director of Brown County Human Services, and Theresa Schroeder, representative, presented an overview of requirements for eligibility for Alzheimer’s assistance programs in Minnesota and the county. The two also detailed homecare and assisted living in Brown County.

“Minnesota is one of the two states in the nation that tie private pay to public pay,” Henderson said. “So in Minnesota, a nursing home cannot charge a private-pay person more than they can receive for public-pay people in the same facility.”

Henderson detailed the types of care available to those who are affected with Alzheimer’s and where they can receive it in Brown County.

“Our county is rich in services and rich in help,” Henderson said. “But on the short end in terms of people who can be employed to do the work.”

Henderson said assisted living facilities were short-staffed in Brown County.

Schroeder covered waiver services for financial medical assistance and provided information on where to apply for these services. She said Brown County Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Human Services offer these types of services. She also covered where senior citizens’ Social Security funds go when used for medical assistance.

“We don’t take over people’s finances,” Schroeder said. “We tell you how much of your check you should give the nursing home. And then the medical assistance will pay the balance of the bill.”

Sunday’s speakers are the first of more programs to come this month.

On Sunday, January 20, Mary Cassen of Catholic Charities will present “Active Aging Programs for Caregivers.” Cassen will discuss options, classes and resources for caregivers in Minnesota. On Sunday, January 27,, Rosalys Peel will present her book, “Mike and Me: An Inspiring Guide for Alzheimer’s Couples.”

Peel will discuss her family’s experiences living with Alzheimer’s and her process of writing the book.

Each program is offered at 2 p.m. at New Ulm Community Center, 600 N. German St., and 6:30 p.m. at Springfield Public Library, 120 N. Cass Ave.

Gage Cureton can be emailed at: gcureton@nujournal.com.