Columbus Alzheimer’s Association opens community outreach center on River Road

Jeannie Pierson says the Columbus Alzheimer’s Association is already seeing positive results from its new community outreach center that had a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at its location in the River Road Shopping Center.

She said a woman driving by saw the sign and decided to stop in to get some information.

“She has an aunt she thinks is showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Pierson, the association’s director of community outreach.

Increased accessibility was one reason for the move to a new place. A bigger reason, though, was to have a place that does not have what Pierson called a “sterile, busy office environment.”

“We want people to feel at home,” she said of the center that features a comfortable cafe and consulting room. “The computers are all in the back.”

She said the facility will serve as a place where families can come for consultation and information.

“People want to learn how to live with Alzheimer’s disease and have quality of life instead of just dying,” she said. “They want to be able to make decisions about their future.”

Besides helping families, better educating the public is a goal of the association that works in 11 Georgia counties. To that purpose, there is a lending library and multipurpose room in which groups of up to 50 people may receive instruction.

All of it is needed.

According to Pierson, more than 20,000 people are known to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in the Chattahoochee Valley.

“We think it is three times that many,” she said. “There is still a stigma that keeps many silent.”

Pierson stated that every day 10,000 baby boomers reach the age of 65.

“We are facing an epidemic,” she said of the disease, which affects primarily the elderly.

“I hope people will stop by and see what we are offering,” Pierson said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Columbus Alzheimer’s Association opens community outreach center on River Road."