Alzheimer’s Foundation of America & Town of Babylon Open First in the Nation Respite Care Relief Park
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) and the Town of Babylon officially opened a new respite care relief park to help those living with dementia and their caregivers.
The park, located next to Babylon Town Hall in Lindenhurst, is the first of its kind anywhere in the country and will serve as AFA’s model for future sites across the United States. AFA provided the Town with $25,000 in grant funding to build the park.
“This new park will be a tremendous resource for caregivers,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s President & CEO. “Socialization, interacting with others and getting out of the house are all critically important steps which help prevent caregiver burnout and improve the quality of life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers now have a beautiful, peaceful, dementia-friendly park that they can go to enjoy the outdoors, get out of the house and learn helpful information. AFA thanks the Town of Babylon for working with us on this project, and we look forward to creating similar parks across the country.”
“We’re very excited to provide this new tool to help improve quality of life for caregivers and those living with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Bert E. Brodsky, Founder and Board Chairman of AFA and a former family caregiver. “Isolation is unhealthy and harmful for both caregivers and people with Alzheimer’s. This park gives them a dementia-friendly place where they can go to relax, socialize and get support. We are grateful to the Town of Babylon for partnering with us on this project, which will undoubtedly make a difference in the lives of many.”
“The Town of Babylon is grateful to be able to provide a space of comfort for those directly dealing with Alzheimer’s as well as their loved ones,” said Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer. “We invite these members of our community to take advantage of this new resource in our Town. I’d like to thank the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America for providing us with the opportunity to construct this park, the first of its kind.”
The Respite Care Relief Park includes educational information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, along with benches, a brick walkway, a gazebo and landscaping. Docking stations are also available where people can plug in phones to play music, which often aids in memory and brain stimulation. The park will enable a caregiver to have much needed relief and gain insight on avoiding burnout; building caregiver skills and a team of support; staying active and becoming an advocate. Caregivers will also be able to bring a loved one living with dementia to this peaceful outdoor setting.
The new park is the next step in the Town of Babylon’s combined efforts with AFA to make the town more dementia friendly for residents. Previously, AFA and the Town have worked together to educate residents about Alzheimer’s disease, raise Alzheimer’s awareness, provide free memory screenings and hold dementia training programs for Town employees.
AFA provided the grant funding with support from the Allergan Foundation.
