{"id":98169,"date":"2020-02-05T11:05:04","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T16:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=98169"},"modified":"2020-02-05T11:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T16:05:04","slug":"dementia-friendly-lehigh-valley-coalition-debuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=98169","title":{"rendered":"Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley Coalition Debuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley Coalition Debuts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>As a newly inducted member of Dementia Friendly America, the Lehigh Valley aims to become friendlier and more inclusive towards individuals and families experiencing Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Allentown, PA, February 5, 2020 <\/strong><em>\u2013 <\/em>Pennsylvania is one of the most rapidly aging states, with more 17% of its population being over the age of 65. That\u2019s why United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley, YWCA of Bethlehem and a steering committee of committed volunteers and advocates who provide leadership for this effort have joined forces to develop a Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley coalition (DFLV). In December, after a comprehensive application process, the Lehigh Valley was accepted to be part of the National Dementia Friendly America initiative.<\/p>\n<p>DFLV aims to make the Lehigh Valley a place where people who are living with dementia and their caregivers are empowered, supported and included in society. The purpose of the steering committee is to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>identify the resources and tools needed to create awareness<\/li>\n<li>provide education and outreach<\/li>\n<li>and gain support from individuals, emergency responders, businesses and community-based organizations throughout the Lehigh<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To date, DFLV has a 2020 work plan that identifies specific work groups to achieve the goals, created resources for healthcare education, developed a DFLV brand identity, and secured grant funding for a website, among other accomplishments. The steering committee plans to host a community kickoff event in early summer for those who would like to get involved or learn more.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, the Lehigh Valley is now privy to the resources provided by Dementia Friendly America. \u201cIt looks like you have excellent partners at the table working together to make Lehigh Valley more dementia friendly, and clearly have a track record of success,\u201d stated Meredith Hanley, Director of Community Capacity Building for the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, in a letter of member acceptance.<\/p>\n<p>The framework for Dementia Friendly Lehigh Valley (DFLV) began in 2013 as a team convened by the Phoebe Ministries Center for Excellence in Dementia Care and as an outgrowth of the Phoebe Institute on Aging (PIA), with the goal of raising awareness and reducing stigma about Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) among community members. The team also encouraged the Lehigh Valley community to become more accessible and supportive for individuals affected by ADRD and their caregivers.<\/p>\n<p>In summer 2018, a three-part community forum brought together key players in the Greater Lehigh Valley in order to further the cause of building a Dementia-Friendly community. Three sessions facilitated by Michelle Barclay, who was essential in initiating Minnesota\u2019s state-wide Dementia-Friendly initiative, focused on uniting local organizations and institutions from diverse disciplines for a mutual cause. At the conclusion of the forums, Dementia-Friendly Lehigh Valley was accepted under the United Way\u2019s robust Healthy Aging initiative Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley, with support from the YWCA of Bethlehem and a steering committee comprised of various community stakeholders, including Lehigh and Northampton County Health Departments, St Luke\u2019s University Health Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network, the Alzheimer Association and local senior service providers such as Phoebe Ministries, Morningstar Living and Acts Retirement-Life Communities.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the goals of DFLV, or to get involved, please email <a href=\"mailto:info@dementiafriendlylv.org\">info@dementiafriendlylv.org <\/a>or visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unitedwayglv.org\/dflv\">www.unitedwayglv.org\/dflv<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Member Organizations* of DFLV<\/h1>\n<p>Abington Manor<\/p>\n<p>Acts Retirement-Life Communities Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley<\/p>\n<p>Alzheimer\u2019s Association &#8211; Delaware Valley Chapter City of Allentown Health Department<\/p>\n<p>City of Bethlehem Health Department Fellowship Community<\/p>\n<p>Frederick Living<\/p>\n<p>Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Health Network Lehigh County Aging and Adult Services Lehigh Valley Health Network<\/p>\n<p>Morningstar Living<\/p>\n<p>Northampton County Area Agency on Aging PA LINK<\/p>\n<p>Phoebe Ministries<\/p>\n<p>State Senator Pat Browne\u2019s Office State Senator Pat Toomey\u2019s Office St Lukes University Health Network<\/p>\n<p>United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley YWCA of Bethlehem<\/p>\n<p>*And several retired community volunteers<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Mission of Dementia Friendly Lehigh Valley<\/h1>\n<p>The mission of DFLV is to raise awareness and reduce stigma related to Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) among community members and encourage the Lehigh Valley community to become more accessible and supportive for individuals affected by ADRD and their caregivers.<\/p>\n<h1>Mission of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley<\/h1>\n<p>The mission of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is to provide the leadership, convene the partnerships, and develop the resources and solutions that improve our community. We remain committed to these goals and sincerely appreciate the continued support of partners, program providers and donors throughout the Lehigh Valley. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unitedwayglv.org\/\">www.UnitedWayGLV.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nLaura McHugh<br \/>\nDirector, Communications and Media Relations<br \/>\nUnited Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley<br \/>\nCelebrating 100 years of service to the Lehigh Valley.<br \/>\n1110 American Parkway NE\u00a0\u00a0Suite F-120 \u00a0Allentown, PA 18109<br \/>\nwww.unitedwayglv.org<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><code class=\"code\">-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-<\/code><br \/>\n<div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner3023'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/' target=\"_blank\" data-id='3023' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner7036'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com' target=\"_blank\" data-id='7036' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div>\n<code class=\"code\">-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-END-<\/code><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?post_type=adverts_posts&p=7036\" class=\"read-more\">Click here to read more... <\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/dementia-lehigh-valley.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98169"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}