Alzheimer’s Activity Center

I am a current volunteer at the center since September 2012, and I have absolutely enjoyed my experience interacting with the clients and caring staff. The staff provides personalized care for the clients attending to their needs and respecting where they are at mentally. The staff do a great job at keeping the clients active throughout the day by doing simple exercises, trivia, walking around the yard, singing in groups, eating lunch, and playing games. Their program includes some art and music therapy and events with the adjacent preschool children. Staff at the center really have a person-​centered approach to caregiving and have good rapport with the clients’ families.

This place is one of a kind! My mother was a client of AAC since January 09. I finally got my dad to ‘let go’ and take her there a couple of times a week to give him a break. The intake interview and tour gave my dad the peace of mind he needed. Even though he reluctantly drove across town, it was worth it for both of them. They treated my mom with the respect she deserved and provided us with information about her needs.
Who knew that 2 months later, my Dad would unexpectedly pass away and that AAC would be my savior. As my husband and I ran around to deal with the ‘business of death’, they took my mom 5 days a week and provided us with assistance on how to deal with the death of my mom’s husband but her caregiver and how that would effect her and turn her life upside down all over again, if the Alzheimer’s wasn’t enough.
Unfortunately, my mom has declined and today, I just got off the phone with Tracy to discharge my mom from the center. They were worried they hadn’t seen her in a few weeks and had been calling me to check in. We made the hard decision this weekend that she just couldn’t make the journey with Outreach para-​transit on her own and was too physically unstable to make it. I really think she’d still be better off getting out and interacting with the center and they could handle it. But, it isn’t the safe thing to do right now.
The staff — up and down the chain of command — are fantastic. They knew my mom and our family personally after just a few weeks. If anything my husband and I will always be grateful to them, I know my Dad was.

My father was here for more than a year. We noticed a positive difference in him within the first couple weeks. And after awhile, he often would perk up when we were going to the car (regardless of where we were headed) and ask «Are we going to the club?» We also noticed that he slept better on nights after going to the Center. I think its because they keep folks active.
The people we met there were also extremely kind. Recently we made a decision to place my father in full time assisted care because my mother who has health issues of her own could no longer manage.
When I called the center and let them know we were discontinuing Dad’s visits (he was going twice/​week), they were tremendously supportive and offered to help in any way. So far my Dad has adjusted remarkably well to his new surroundings and I think much of this is due to having so much socialization at the Center.
I would recommend the Center whole heartedly, and I thank them for the care they gave to my Dad.

If you are thinking about volunterring here. I would not recommend it. The volunteer coordinator, Amy Hurst, is extremely hostile. She is passive aggressive and ungrateful to the volunteers. If you are thinking of bringing a loved one here for care I do not know that I would recommend that either. A lot of what I saw here as a volunteer was upsetting or frighting. Often times individuals were just sitting in corners or wandering around, sticking things in their mouths that could be dangerous like poker chips, or sitting aimlessly at a table, while a staff member played scrabble or cards. Also, the people who work here receive NO training.