2-1-1 Idaho CareLine Now Idaho's central Portal for Alzheimer's disease and related Dementias (adrd)

IAPG Steering Committee Members and other interested persons:

I am emailing you to ask for your help in spreading the word about the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine now being the state's centralized information portal for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias ("ADRD"). 

As you may be aware, the state legislature recently passed House Concurrent Resolution 34 endorsing a new state plan to address ADRD. One the goals of the state plan is to increase awareness about and improve access to available resources for caregivers and those with ADRD. We have launched three new initiatives to help reach that goal:

1) The attached (15 second) Public Service Announcement featuring Governor Otter (a 30 second version was also filmed) promotes the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine as a convenient resource for Idahoans to get information about ADRD. The PSA has been airing on Idaho Public Television stations during their late night programming and beginning this week will be airing on KTVB Channel 7 around the 8am, noon time and 5 pm time slots. It will also be available on YouTube and Facebook.

Download

If you have a website where this could be posted, or would be willing to post it on the social media outlets you have access to, we'd appreciate any visibility that you can give it. The 2-1-1 CareLine staff has now been trained when they receive a call about ADRD to either a) mail a packet of information provided by the Alzheimer's Association to callers, or b) connect them with a master's level care consultant from the Alzheimer's Association's 24/7 call center who can offer local resources and/or discuss available care options.

2) I have also attached a flyer (a color copy  and a gray scale copy ) for healthcare providers throughout the state promoting the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine as an ADRD information portal. These are being mailed to healthcare providers and given to them at professional conferences being held periodically around the state. The concept being presented to them is that 2-1-1 is a simple and direct resource that can get caregivers and people with ADRD to the resources they need. We are providing this resource flyer because the statewide needs assessment indicated that healthcare providers often do not offer information about resources available to help caregivers or people with ADRD. Please feel free to make this flyer available on any websites you feel might be appropriate and/or pass them out as you please. The gray scale version is easily reproduceable.     

3) We (IAPG) also have a new website that promotes many of the same resources. You can link to it at: www.Idahoalzhelp.org . Please feel free to make this link available on any websites you feel might be appropriate.

Finally, we would like to thank the following people for their invaluable assistance in helping with the development of the Public Service Announcement, the Healthcare Provider Resource Flyer and the new website:

• The Honorable C.L."Butch" Otter
• Jon Hanian, Press Secretary, Office of the Governor
• Tammy Perkins, Office of the Governor, Senior Special Assistant for Health and  Social Services
• Randy Simon, Communications Director, Idaho AARP
• MacKenzie Rodgers, Director, Greater Idaho Chapter, Alzheimer's Association 
• Cathy McDougall, Director of Outreach, AARP Idaho
• Alex Zamora, Program Sepcialist, Family & Community Services, 211 Idaho CareLine
• Boise State University Public Relations Students Society of America

Thanks for your help!

Mike Berlin

Idaho Alzheimer's Planning Group

More than 500 bikers raise funds for POW/MIA veterans' families

By Jennifer Auh

CREATED APR. 28, 2013

Boise Valley POW*MIA Corporation held its Annual Sweet-Ola Ride/Auction and BBQ.

The ride started in Garden City and ended at the Triangle Restaurant in Sweet, Idaho. More than 500 bikers showed up and remembered the veterans that never returned. They rode for about 50 miles to honor the veterans, and they participated in the BBQ and auction to raise funds. 

There was also live music by "Simple Ruckus."  All the money raised will go to support the National League of POW/MIA Families to continue the fight to bring home our unreturned veterans. 

The organization raises awareness and pushes for policies to help bring back prisoners of war and veterans that went missing in action.

Organizers said they hope to help bring everyone back, including Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Hailey. He has been imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan, since 2009.

"We raised funds, we have local chapters from Pocatello, Boise, Idaho Falls. We can bring our efforts together," said Dwight Murphy, Boise Valley POW/MIA spokesman.

Their motto: Until they are all home, "You Are Not Forgotten"!

 See more on this story at http://www.kivitv.com/news/local/205170421.html

Veterans, Advocates want to get the word out on Dogs

Service animals do lifesaving work and can go where their owners go

By ANNA WEBB — This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Daniel Sperry enlisted in the Army the year he graduated from high school. His service in the Persian Gulf wars, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, left him with joint pain and headaches so sudden and severe they sometimes make him black out.

"It's the worst pain you can ever imagine," he said.

He's gotten good at sensing when a headache is about to hit.

"I've trained myself to fall down straight, not on my head," said Sperry, who stands 6-foot-4.

Having the support of his service dog on his left side and his cane on his right gives him an extra moment to plan his falls, he said.

If Dan falls when he's alone, Awescar (pronounced Oscar) goes to get Dan's wife, Angie, for help.

Awescar, a large, white labradoodle, is trained to stand stock still so that Dan can use him as a brace to stand up again.

Dan's condition means he can't work, but getting Awescar three years ago - thanks to the Warriors Promise Foundation and a donation from the community fund at Idaho Power, where Angie works - has helped him be out in the world again, he said.

"Before getting Awescar, I was becoming a recluse," said Dan.

Despite the bright blue vest with white lettering that identifies Awescar as more than a pet, and despite state and federal laws that allow the presence of the service dog in stores, restaurants and other businesses, the Sperrys have faced hassles from local shop owners who don't know the law.

They've had some bad encounters in the last few months.

One was in a deli in February when the manager asked them to leave after insisting Awescar was a pet. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and Angie called the police to make a report. Officers arrived. The whole thing was so stressful, Dan collapsed. He ended up in the hospital.

After looking up the law, police returned and ticketed the deli with a misdemeanor.

The owner of a gun store asked Dan to leave when he saw Awescar, even as Dan tried to explain the law.

The Sperrys had a similar encounter at a buffet restaurant. The servers said they were afraid of the dog and that other customers might be allergic to Awescar. They asked the Sperrys to leave, but eventually agreed to seat them - in a corner far from the other diners. They asked to see documents for Awescar, which is illegal. The Sperrys left without finishing their meal.

"I had never had the experience of being discriminated against, but now I know what it's like," said Angie.

She went home that night and printed out a new business card for herself: "Angie Sperry, disabled veteran advocate."

She set up a meeting the next day with the restaurant manger to explain the legal rights of veterans with service animals.

INFORMING THE PUBLIC

Angie and Dan have joined with other veterans and the Idaho Veterans Network to get the word out.

Marnie Bernard, a member of the network and a longtime veterans advocate, expects the issue to grow.

"There are more veterans returning now, getting service animals. There will be more of these encounters as veterans are out in public more," she said.

Discrimination against service animals is widespread, said Tim Livingood, CEO of the National Service Animal Registry in Colorado. "We actually hear from disabled people routinely with these issues, many vets and nonvets alike," he said.

In addition to educating people about the law, groups like Livingood's, the Idaho Veterans Network and families like the Sperrys also want to broaden the public's notion of what a service dog looks like.

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS

Most people are familiar with seeing-eye dogs or muscular labradors pulling wheelchairs. They're not as familiar with a big, fluffy dog like Awescar.

Livingood can relate. His own service animal is a 10-pound toy fox terrier seizure-alert dog.

"People look at him, and at me. I look completely healthy. They think I'm pulling their leg when I say my dog is a service animal," said Livingood.

He gets frequent calls from veterans who are angry after being turned away from businesses. They ask for advice.

"I've had to educate so many people in my own town," he said.

He carries cards printed with the laws regarding service animals. He gives the cards to business owners when he has a problem.

"Once people with disabilities learn to do this, it doesn't mean they won't have confrontations. But it does mean they'll get through them," said Livingood.

The Sperrys say they'll continue to speak out.

"It's 1 percent about me and 99 percent about making sure this doesn't happen to the next veteran," said Dan Sperry. "People don't learn the law and we're the ones who get affected."

Anna Webb: 377-6431

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/29/2555815/veterans-advocates-want-to-get.html#storylink=omni_popular#wgt=pop#storylink=cpy