2019 Year in Review

Heather Cooper Ortner, CEO Alzheimer's LA

Heather Cooper Ortner
President & CEO

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Dear Friends,
I started planning to write this message by asking each department at Alzheimer’s LA to send me their highlights from the whole year; the activities, programs, achievements, or client interactions they are most proud of. I was very quickly inundated with pages and pages of truly meaningful accomplishments from every department and individual staff members.

So, I apologize to you – and to them. There is not nearly enough space to share all the highlights, so I had to pick and choose. But every staff person at Alz LA is deserving of our appreciation and recognition for the impact they have on the people and communities they care for and educate.

Now that we are at the beginning of a new year and a new decade, it’s appropriate to look back and see where we’ve come from as we move forward. We are so grateful for the support we receive all year long from donors, community partners, and volunteers. We are only able to accomplish as much as we do because of all of you.

Here’s a too-small snapshot of some our greatest accomplishments – with our deepest appreciation for helping us along the way:

  • Alzheimer’s Los Angeles was recognized with the prestigious Grantmakers in Aging John Feather Diversity Award for our long-term commitment to serving ethnically diverse people living with dementia and to serving their families and caregivers.

  • We developed an innovative and culturally competent video featuring Japanese caregivers sharing their experiences as a way breaking down some of the stigma of Alzheimer’s in this community. The video, called Faces of Caregiving, was shown throughout Los Angles in various locations, was viewed more than 1 million times on Facebook and YouTube, and was submitted as our entry for the National Grantmakers in Aging Diversity Award.

  • Our art programs were highly successful this year, with Memories in the Making engaging 220 people through 44 sites, and with special targeting efforts towards the Latino community.

  • Our activities programs also grew this year, and the new BasebALZ program was particularly successful due in part to a July LA Times article that featured it on the front page of the sports section (see below) and a September Spectrum television taping of the program.

  • Three Caregiver Wellness Day events were held providing family caregivers with supportive knowledge about caregiving, as well as relaxing and pampering activities. Events took place on June 8 in Alhambra (East LA region), June 21 in Van Nuys (San Fernando Valley region), and on November 8 in Moreno Valley (Inland Empire region); approximately 500 family caregivers were served.

  • Alzheimer’s LA’s expertise on creating dementia capable healthcare systems was recognized internationally, and two of our staff members traveled to Taiwan on separate occasions to present on promising practices and lessons learned from our work with healthcare systems.

  • We trained over 3,300 professionals in 2019 through in-person trainings, online classes, webinars, and conference presentations, including the launch of a three-day Dementia Care Specialist Training Program.

  • We received much coverage in the media, most notably when Bill Plaschke, preeminent sportswriter for the LA Times, wrote an article about our BasebALZ group that appeared in the Sunday paper on July 27.

  • We proposed and passed state legislation (AB 453) requiring all paramedics in California to receive dementia training.

With gratitude,

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Published On: January 9th, 2020Categories: Programs & Services