Seymour Crossing raises money for Alzheimer’s Association

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Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior, and symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life, accounting for 60 to 80% of dementia cases, according to alz.org.

The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older and on average, a person with the disease lives four to eight years after diagnosis but can live as long as 20 years, the Alzheimer’s Association says.

Knowing all of these facts, Seymour Crossing, a senior community operated by American Senior Communities, has raised funds in recent years to support the Alzheimer’s Association.

On Aug. 20, money was collected during an outdoor event that featured a cake walk, a raffle and face painting. All proceeds will go to the organization, said Marty Root, the facility’s activities director.

“ASC is one of the biggest supporters of the Alzheimer’s Association,” she said.

Also at the event were Kristye Lewis and her miniature therapy horse, Flash, Lom Win playing guitar and singing, the Kovener’s Korner ice cream truck, a resident selling crafts, a Seymour Police Department vehicle, a Jackson County Emergency Medical Services ambulance and a Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department firetruck.

Root said she appreciated several local businesses for donating items for the raffle and event.

This was her first time organizing an event like this, and she hopes to make it even bigger and better next year.

“We’ve had a nice turnout, and it has turned out nice for what it is,” Root said.

Resident Sharon Newman said getting to pet Flash was her favorite part of the event.

“I love horses,” she said. “I used to ride all the time.”

Root said Seymour Crossing has annually had a team of staff members participate in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Columbus.

Last year’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s returning this year, set for Oct. 3 at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds.

“Each team has to have a certain amount of money to turn in,” Root said. “Everything raised here today will go straight to them.”

While it’s important to Seymour Crossing to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association, it’s also a priority to bring awareness of the disease.

“We don’t have a lockdown unit for people with Alzheimer’s, so we take people in early stages that don’t really necessarily need to be in that closed area, but we provide the education here,” Root said.

“Some folks do take their loved ones back out into the community, and we provide education here with our team and nursing staff and everything to help them provide the education to take care of them at home if they just come in here for therapy or rehab or evaluations or things like that,” she said.

The Alzheimer’s Association and Seymour Crossing both provide education and resources for people who want to keep their family member at home.

“A lot of people don’t realize sometimes, people don’t come to the nursing home to live. They just come here to get more education and to get stronger in therapy, and then they go right back home,” Root said. “It’s kind of different than what it was back years ago.”

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