News - February 19, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 19, 2019

Contact: Lindsay Hutter | 703.824.1109 | lhutter@goodwinliving.org

Goodwin House Incorporated Hosts Dementia Friendly Community Summits

Alexandria, VA – Goodwin House Incorporated (GHI) is inviting local community partners to participate in summits to discuss the Dementia Friendly America (DFA) movement and how we might bring it to the Northern Virginia region. Two summits will occur in late February, one at each Goodwin House Life Plan Community–Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads and Goodwin House Alexandria.

According to Alzheimer’s Association, 1 in 10 persons aged 65 and older is living with dementia. At present in the United States, 5.7 million people are living with the disease; another 16.1 million people provide unpaid care to help them. Given these statistics, communities have remarkable opportunities to make a difference. GHI seeks to bring together local government officials, local health care providers, geriatric experts and representatives of senior living and care organizations, all of whom will discuss how they can do their part to turn local communities into Dementia Friendly Communities.

To learn more about these coordinated efforts underway in Northern Virginia, contact Ruth Reagan via email: vreagan@goodwinliving.org.

To learn more, visit www.dfamerica.org, and to see an example of one local community that is already Dementia Friendly, visit www.dfaherndon.org

From the DFA website:

What is Dementia Friendly America (DFA)? DFA is a national network of communities, organizations and individuals seeking to ensure that communities across the U.S. are equipped to support people living with dementia and their caregivers. Dementia friendly communities foster the ability of people living with dementia to remain in community and engage and thrive in day to day living.

What is a Dementia Friendly community? A dementia friendly community is a village, town, city or county that is informed, safe and respectful of individuals with the disease, their families and caregivers and provides supportive options that foster quality of life. Joining DFA means a community is engaging in a process to become more dementia friendly