The Longest Day grows awareness of Alzheimer’s disease

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The Longest Day grows awareness of Alzheimer’s disease
 
DOUGLASSVILLE, Pa., June 16, 2025 — The Alzheimer's Association uses the day with the most hours of sunlight – known as the “longest day” – as an annual fundraising event to shine a light on the disease and raise funds for Alzheimer's care, support, and research.
 
Communities nationwide are joining the fight against Alzheimer's by hosting their own fundraising activities. On Friday, June 20, from 1:30-3:30 p.m., Keystone Villa at Douglassville, Personal and Memory Care, in Amity Township, will offer food, drinks, and giveaways, with tours of its newly refreshed memory care neighborhood.
 
Guests can explore the enclosed memory care garden, recently revitalized by Nancy E., a current resident's wife. She hopes the garden will create moments of joy for residents and their families. The area is still a work in progress but features shrubs, plants, and many vibrant purple flowers. The color symbolizes the Alzheimer's movement and is used to raise awareness about the disease and other dementias.
 
“It doesn't look very busy, but there is a rhyme and reason to what I'm thinking,” Nancy said, but knowing more about the garden, her design is purposeful. She notes using various textures, colors, and shapes to spark curiosity and engagement from the residents while keeping safety in mind; she opted against vegetation that could be harmful or cause confusion. “I have a couple of butterfly attractions. I think that would be great fun for them to watch,” she said.
 
Nancy's plans for the garden evolve as it's all coming together. “ I do see it being very visual all year,” she said. Her ideas include pumpkins, gourds, cornstalk for fall, something silly for Halloween, and a few snowmen for the holidays. She also wants to add painted rocks, another opportunity to spread joy to others on a journey that can only be described as challenging and complex.
 
Over 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, with numbers projected to rise, according to the Alzheimer's Association. This progressive brain disorder is often presented as memory problems, like misplacing items and difficulty recalling names to changes in thinking and reasoning. Still, it is frequently overlooked due to a lack of awareness and assumptions that memory loss is part of normal aging.
 
“Don't mislabel things, look at things and make sure you're answering the need here or you're getting checked. Alzheimer's is occurring all around us. I'm amazed at how many people are dealing with a form of dementia — earlier and earlier,” Nancy said.
No two people are affected the same way by dementia, and health care providers often provide general guidance.
 
“I can't give him an aspirin and it's going to get better. I have to figure out what's going to happen tomorrow. It's all very different. They can tell me what will happen, but there's no timeline to it,” Nancy said.  
 
It's a journey Nancy and her family continue to learn from, taking one day at a time, sharing that she's become very into the phrase "a moment of joy." She said, "You’ve got a moment of joy that he's with you, and it can go that fast,” sharing that her husband's reality can be from different points in his life at any time.
 
She hopes events like The Longest Day will raise awareness of dementia and let others know they are not alone and that there are places that families can turn to for help.
 
Memory care communities play a crucial role in supporting older adults with dementia. Keystone Villa at Douglassville provides a safe, secure, and compassionate environment, tailored care plans, and services that adapt to changes in ability and encourage social engagement and well-being.
 
“The greatest thing is that the staff listens to the residents’ families. They are open to my suggestions and accept my help with input to my husband’s program, his needs, and care,” Nancy said.
 
Families find solace in Keystone Villa's positive approach methodologies developed by world-renowned dementia care specialist Teepa Snow. Through therapeutic activities and caregiver support residents experience happy, purposeful moments.