Dementia Society launches new name to promote same important mission

There are currently 20,000 people in Ottawa with a diagnosis of dementia — and that number will double in the next 15 years.

“And that doesn’t count all the people who don’t get a diagnosis,” said Paddy Bowen, chief executive director of the newly named Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County.

The new name for the former Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County was officially launched at a reception held Nov. 7 at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre. They also cut the ribbon on a new website, www. dementiahelp.ca.

After 35 years of supporting local families living with dementia, the local non-profit organization changed its name to more properly reflect the constituency it helps and the scope of its expertise, said Bowen. “It’s still the Alzheimer Society that was created 35 years ago. Because a lot of people have a diagnosis of mixed dementia, the signals were very clear from the science community that the other definition was more limiting.”

When the organization first came into being, Alzheimer’s disease was the best known and most prevalent form of dementia. This has changed and Alzheimer’s disease is now thought to represent less than 30 per cent of all dementias, she said.

“Our organization has always worked with people challenged by lewy body, frontotemporal, vascular, parkinsonian and other dementias but this has not been reflected in our name. We are also cognizant of the growing tide of interest in dementia as reflected by the recently announced Ontario Dementia Strategy and the National Dementia Strategy.”

The Dementia Society, founder and an active participant of the Champlain Dementia Network, will build on the work it has done with the network on projects such as ReThink Dementia and engage in more public education, public awareness and advocacy. It will continue to provide education, information, referrals and support for caregivers of people with all forms of dementia.

“We are cognizant that there may be confusion because the Alzheimer Society of Ontario is opening a branch in Ottawa,” she said. “But we are the organization that has been serving Ottawa for 35 years and will continue to be that. We want money donated in Ottawa to stay in Ottawa for the purpose of helping people in Ottawa, while donations for research are donated to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. We are a health provider here, helping close to 8,000 people a year on the ground.”

Two new programs of the Dementia Society are Dementia Basics and Dementia Tele-Support. Other programs include In the Same Boat, one-to-one peer-connecting, and Talking Among Ourselves, offering small group sessions.

“Dementia Basics consists of six lectures open to everyone, and we also offer the more enhanced support of counsellors to meet with people one-on-one who are in crisis or complicated situations,” said Bowen. “More than 30 volunteers are the first point of contact in our call centre. Our goal is to have 100 volunteers working in that program, which then makes it possible for our paid staff to be available for more complex cases. Among the volunteers, we have a couple of doctors, RNs, social workers, grad students, a former deputy minister and other amazing people who take on this role for us.”

To learn more, visit www. dementiahelp.ca, contact info@ dsorc.org or call 613-523-4004 in Ottawa, or 1-888-411-2067 in Renfrew County.