Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Foothills Caring Corps asks Carefree to back dementia-friendly designation as services surge
Loading...
Summary
Foothills Caring Corps told the Carefree Town Council it has nearly doubled service ‘touch points’ in two years, is running nine vans and hundreds of nonemergency medical trips monthly, and is asking the town for a letter of support to pursue a dementia-friendly community designation.
Foothills Caring Corps Executive Director Brent Downs told the Carefree Town Council that the nonprofit has expanded services for homebound seniors and is seeking the town’s support to pursue a dementia-friendly designation.
Downs said the organization’s client contacts rose from about 20,000 two years ago to over 38,000 and that the group expects to approach 50,000 touch points this fiscal year. “We have over 400 volunteers from the community that help provide these services,” he said. He added that nonemergency medical rides increased from roughly 270 trips per month to more than 500 after Medicare reduced reimbursements, and that providing those rides in-house spares clients the $200–$300-per-trip cost they might otherwise face.
The request for a dementia-friendly designation was presented by Sherry Bozicchi, Foothills Caring Corps staff member, who described local need and a three-step plan: education, forming a cross-sector action team and monthly coordination. “I do myself about 40 intakes per month,” Bozicchi said, and estimated about 40% of intakes involve memory challenges or cognitive impairment. She said Foothills Caring Corps has partnered with Banner Alzheimer’s Institute’s Dementia Friendly Arizona program and plans a launch event Jan. 14 at the Cave Creek Library.
Bozicchi described existing programs the organization runs, including a Music, Memory and Movement workshop led by local resident Shannon Wallace (attended by about 40 people per session) and a monthly Memory Cafe hosted at Good Shepherd of the Hills that recently served 10 people living with dementia and 10 care partners. She said the group also operates a mobility loan closet and nine vans used for transportation and evacuation assistance.
Bozicchi asked the council for a simple endorsement letter from Mayor Crane to support the town’s application to join the national Dementia Friendly America network and to use the dementia-friendly brand to encourage participating businesses to adopt practices that help patrons with memory challenges. Council members asked for clarifications about how dementia is identified and whether the group coordinates with physicians and care facilities; staff said intakes can be based on family reports or medical diagnosis, that they try to involve family first and provide transition resources, and that participating businesses can be trained to offer quieter spaces and patient customer service.
Mayor Crane and council members did not take a formal vote on the endorsement during the meeting but asked staff to follow up with the steps needed for certification and to provide a draft letter and schedule for the town to consider. The Foothills Caring Corps presentation runs on the organization’s volunteer model and community partnerships and ends with a specific request for a mayoral letter to proceed with the dementia-friendly application.
