More than 360 Moore County neighbors gathered last month at Pinehurst Resort; however, the topic may not be what you might expect. Instead of golf, this event was the kickoff for The Engaged Brains Project, a positive, person-centered dementia care initiative made possible by the philanthropy of The Foundation of FirstHealth and its Reid Fellowship for Healthcare Transformation, led by board-certified neuropsychologist Karen. D. Sullivan.
Sullivan is the owner of Pinehurst Neuropsychology Brain & Memory Clinic and creator of the I CARE FOR YOUR BRAIN program, which focuses on providing brain health education.
“To have this many community members join us for an afternoon of learning and training in positive, person-centered care was very motivating,” Sullivan said. “What I especially loved is the support for our idea that the community needs to be more educated, skilled and loving toward our neighbors impacted by brain change, and Moore County showed up!”
Attendees of the event enjoyed a luncheon and educational sessions led by Sullivan and dementia educators Teepa Snow and Amanda Bulgarelli of Positive Approach to CareÒ, as well as a question-and-answer session with two couples facing brain change firsthand.
“The program made an amazing impact on our community, and these efforts are so appreciated and greatly admired,” said Barbara Latin, a member of Community Presbyterian involved in the church’s dementia-friendly efforts, who has also organized a group of knitters to create ‘tinker balls,” a soft but textured, handmade knitted fidget tool that can be comforting and engaging to those living with dementia as her own volunteer effort of The Engaged Brains Project.
During the event, 60 community members who have made commitments as dementia champions for The Engaged Brains Project received certificates for their completion of the Positive Approach to CareÒ training. Each champion will work on an impact project over the course of the next year as part this positive, person-centered dementia care initiative.
Pat Soler, a dementia champion and community support group leader for dementia caregivers, is launching a couples support group for those navigating a partner’s dementia diagnosis.
“We had so many of our support group people here, and they were absolutely blown away,” she said. “The event definitely provided a better understanding of why we are so psyched to be a part of The Engaged Brains Project. We are on the cusp of an incredible journey, so hang on, make sure you have your seat belt is secured, and keep your arms and legs inside the car, because this roller coaster is just beginning.”
“Thank you, Karen Sullivan, for sharing your servant heart in the most meaningful, supportive and caring way with our community,” was the sentiment form Barbara Dice, who along with her husband Myron as dementia champions and project volunteers are focusing their efforts on helping neighbors in their life plan community of Penick Village.
Attendees of the event were also offered the opportunity to volunteer and join this community effort.
“More than half of the people signed up to volunteer in The Engaged Brains Project, and that is incredible,” Sullivan said. “We are in the process of figuring out how to best harness this amazing community energy to transform lives. We have plans to funnel all this love into more direct programming for people living with early-stage dementia, more care partner support programming, and a skilled, friendly visitor program to the 10 memory care units here in Moore County. We have volunteer interest for nearly every community sector, which is going to make our goal of having a major local impact on ‘dementia culture’ very attainable.”
The Engaged Brains Project hosts monthly community meetings that are free and open to the public for anyone interested in joining this positive, person-centered dementia care initiative. The next meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, located at 125 Everette Road, Pinehurst. Subsequent meetings are Nov. 20, Dec. 18, and in 2025, Jan. 22, Feb. 26, Mar. 26, Apr. 23, May 28, Jun. 25, Jul. 23, Aug. 27 and Sept. 24, all begin at 2:30 p.m. Registration is not required, and all are welcome to attend.
In addition to the free monthly community meetings, The Engaged Brains Project will host three free volunteer training dates this fall designed to provide education and skills for offering care to the person, the care partner and the health care worker. Sullivan will offer a 90-minute skills specific training for each group and invites those interested “to choose the community group you have the heart to serve.” All three sessions are also at Community Presbyterian Church in Pinehurst and are set for:
The Person: Thursday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m.-noon
The Care Partner: Thursday, Nov. 21 at 10:30 a.m.-noon
The Healthcare Worker: Thursday, Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m.-noon
Please RSVP for the volunteer training dates to [email protected] or 910-690-7570.
“The support of The Foundation of FirstHealth in this mission cannot be overstated,” Sullivan said. “Their leadership saw the value in this idea from the very beginning, and community work at this level would not be even remotely possible without their incredible support. All of our dementia champions are very motivated to pay forward their investment in our training. We are full of energy for this work and ready to get started.”
For more information on The Engaged Brains Project, visit www.TheEngagedBrainsProject.com or email program coordinator Carrie Frye at [email protected].
Feature photo: The Engaged Brains Project, led by board-certified neuropsychologist and fellow of The Foundation of FirstHealth’s Reid Fellowship for Healthcare Transformation Karen D. Sullivan, gathered its dementia champions at Pinehurst Resort in September to accept their certificates for attending Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to CareÒ training session. All 60 of the project’s dementia champions are committed to completing impact projects over the course of the year as part of this positive, person-centered dementia care initiative.
Contributed article and photo.
