The provincial government is investing $190, 000 to support a new service for Alzheimer patients and their families.
The funding will help establish a program called First Link, which connects those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia to health services and information in the community, from the time of diagnosis throughout the progression of the disease.
It will also allow the government to expand its current support and education programs.
Recent research has shown that with appropriate interventions, family caregivers are able to keep their family member with dementia at home an average 557 days longer than caregivers who did not receive the interventions.
The First Link program was first piloted in Ottawa in 2002.