Alzheimer Society’s Guelph office moves to ‘hub’

GUELPH — The Alzheimer Society’s Guelph office has moved to a new community hub where people can access a range of services.

“It’s actually quite thrilling because it’s really making a difference in how patients receive care by doing something as simple as moving under one roof,” said executive director Michelle Martin. “It’s just making care better for clients.” All other offices for the Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington remain the same, including the Kitchener and Cambridge offices.

The Guelph office moved from Woodlawn Road to Huron Street, into a building that includes related services such as an adult day program run by St. Joseph’s Health Centre, an aphasia program, and specialized geriatric services.

“It’s really a community partnership. This is a collaborative effort,” Martin said.

The Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington’s social work, education and volunteer management teams moved in at the end of March — making the building “a hub for services for seniors and folks with dementia,” Martin said.

The previous location was shared with another agency, but it served different clientele.

Being in the same spot reduces the chance referrals will fall through the cracks, or people simply don’t pursue services because it’s too much trouble.

“It just makes life easier and that’s what we’re seeing already,” Martin said.

Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington came out of the amalgamation in 2014 of four different societies, serving Cambridge, Kitchener, Guelph and Wellington County.