2016 Leading Edge Care and Services Award

Awarded by: LeadingAge Iowa

Presented to: Perry Lutheran Home - Remembering Hope Education & Outreach

The LeadingAge Iowa “Leading Edge Care and Services” award is presented to a member organization or those affiliated with a member organization in recognition of creative new programs or services that have dramatically benefited the residents and/or clients of the member organization and serve as models of innovation and excellence. This includes those members that demonstrate superior achievement and are setting standards of excellence through programs that address some of the most complex challenges throughout the continuum of aging services. It also includes educating others on how to implement successful models and trends in long term care.

The Perry Lutheran Home opened their first dementia unit in 1986 and have specialized in dementia/memory care by offering three different levels of care and certified dementia practitioners. Extensive training and more than forty years of experience prompted Perry Lutheran Home to create a program impacting people outside of their walls by spreading the word and helping demystify this terrible illness.

Recognizing that Alzheimer’s and dementia simply are not talked about enough, Perry Lutheran Home created a seminar, Remembering Hope, that brings knowledge and delivers advice on the subject to the greater community. The remembering Hope Seminar covers such topics as: getting a diagnosis, demystifying dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, caregiver challenges, communicating with your loved one and finding hope in Christ. Participants can also participate in a virtual dementia simulation to better understand how someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s experiences the world. The seminar allows caregivers to identify better ways to respond, decreasing stress and increasing well-being for all.

Through a partnership with Lutheran Family Service, Remembering Hope seminars have been hosted by churches and community groups all across Iowa. The seminar was recently taken to Phoenix, Arizona, on a national level. Remembering Hope is a passionate, caring ministry approach to educate and support the greater community impacted by Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia.