Stemming from her eight years as Hennepin County attorney and continuing on through her work as U.S. senator, Amy Klobuchar has fought hard to protect and aid those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Klobuchar met with about a dozen members of the Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s team on April 4 to talk about her ideas and thoughts on Alzheimer’s from a federal level, but to also hear about the action taken by the organization to make Cambridge and Isanti County a dementia-friendly community.

Klobuchar talked about coining the term “silver tsunami,” later changing it to the “silver surge,” regarding the doubling of the Minnesota senior population over the next few decades.

She referenced several pieces of legislation she’s authored or coauthored to help protect seniors, such as the Seniors Fraud Prevention Act and the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Act, and the importance of providing funding for research and treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Julie Tooker, community relations director for GracePointe Crossing, explained the Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s organization formed in 2013 and is composed of 24 people from a wide variety of different sectors across the community.

“We went through the ACT on Alzheimer’s toolkit and came up with a list of different things we wanted to focus on, including raising awareness and education,” Tooker said. “We have been busy working in those areas for a number of years and we really do have a great group of people here focusing on raising awareness.”

The Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s organization will be hosting a presentation, “Alzheimer’s: Every Minute Counts,” from 4-6 p.m. May 3 at the Hardy Performing Arts Center at Cambridge-Isanti High School. The event is supported by a dementia grant from the Minnesota Board on Aging and will feature local resource tables, a viewing of a PBS documentary and a panel discussion. The goal of the event is to raise awareness, reduce the stigma and increase hope for people touched by dementia, and also provide support and encouragement to caregivers.

Jayne Mund, caregiver consultant for Family Pathways Aging Services, explained the organization has a monthly column printed in the Isanti County News to help provide information on Alzheimer’s and inform the community about upcoming events and activities.

Cambridge City Administrator Lynda Woulfe explained she and other members of city hall, including police officers, have gone through the dementia-friendly training or been provided with the information.

“This training has made a huge difference in working with older people who come into city hall to pay utility bills or apply for permits,” Woulfe said. “We are now trained to recognize the cues of someone who may be at our front counter confused because of the impacts of Alzheimer’s or dementia. The training has made us more aware of what’s going on and if someone is struggling, how can we help them. We really have a staff that has a passion to serve, and three people who were at our front counter have gotten help as a direct result of our staff recognizing the signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia.”

Cambridge Mayor Marlys Palmer said the ACT group is a great group to be a part of and the entire Cambridge City Council supports the activities of the organization.

“The Cambridge City Council has always been right on board with this organization because of GracePointe Crossing and Julie (Tooker) and the respect we have for her and her organization,” Palmer said. “We knew this was going to be a problem when we heard Sen. Klobuchar refer to it as a ‘silver tsunami.’ The council supports this to the point where we have a staff person in our Community Development Department that comes to all the meetings and we have one City Council member who also sits on the committee and provides information back to all of us. Our Police Department also really gets out there and gets to know our citizens, and our Fire Department is also informed on this issue.”

Members of the Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s group talked about ways they are trying to connect with the community. Caregiver Vicki Ostrom described the Memory Cafe that is held monthly at the SAC’s Enrichment Center in Cambridge and will hopefully expand to Isanti.

“The Memory Cafe is a time for the caregivers and the people they are caring for to come in and socialize with others with similar situations through activities, conversation and companionship,” Ostrom said. “It’s a pretty miraculous time and it gives the caregivers an opportunity to talk with other caregivers who understand what they are going through.”

Mund talked about the important role of caregiver consultants and funding these positions.

“Caregiver consultants are an important position because we are at the ground level helping caregivers to find the resources and support they need; it’s an ongoing service,” Mund said.

Tooker said while the Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s group has made wonderful progress since its inception, there is still work to do.

“For every person that we’re touching, there’s 100 more we haven’t connected with yet,” Tooker said. “We are here for the long haul, and the community has witnessed our work together for five years now and they are realizing they can count on us.”

Klobuchar praised the efforts of the organization.

“The more awareness and involvement we have on this issue, the better for everyone,” Klobuchar said.

Isanti County Public Health Director Tony Buttacavoli said the organization is continuously looking for grant opportunities to help fund the work of the Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s organization.

“The funding has benefited us because we have silos of excellence already happening ... and some of this funding has helped to create the infrastructure to pull us all together,” Buttacavoli said. “Our role is to assess and look at policy and focus on education.”

Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small transmitter on the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized frequency signal. If an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. The first responders will then use the client’s individualized frequency to locate the position of the individual.

Isanti County TRIAD is through the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office where monthly meetings are held with seniors to talk about various topics such as severe weather awareness, Senior Linkage Line, tripping and falling, fire safety, frauds and scams.

“The funding you vote on does make a huge difference here. Our goal with Project Lifesaver and TRIAD is to build trust and partnerships within the community,” Caulk said. “When you have trust, you can accomplish quite a bit.”

Sarah Motl with Isanti County Public Health talked about the partnership with Allina Health’s Cambridge Medical Center.

“The earlier the diagnosis the better, for the person and the caregiver,” Motl said. “We have a referral program at Cambridge Medical Center that after a physician gives a diagnosis, early on, they can refer that patient to the proper resources, whether it’s Cambridge ACT on Alzheimer’s, Isanti County Family Services, or another organization that can help.”