Dementia Support Groups
If you have been diagnosed with dementia or are facing an impending diagnosis of memory loss, you will have a lot of questions about your next steps and major life decisions. NMC Health is here to help.
Our Dementia Support Groups in Newton, Kansas share educational information about dementia and information about where to find community resources. These support groups primarily focus on encouraging shared experiences, emotional support, and provide tips on how to handle day-to-day situations.
NMC Health’s Dementia Support Groups focus on each member’s individual needs in unique way where everyone in the group can benefit. Members can:
- Share their experiences
- Provide emotional support for other members
- Give tips on how to handle day-to-day situations
We offer several types of group meeting. Each group meeting is different but the focus is always on living with a diagnosis (or an impending diagnosis) of dementia.
If you have a medical emergency, call 911 or visit the NMC Health Medical Center Emergency Department.
Perhaps what is most important about a support group is the atmosphere of caring, frankness and confidentiality it provides. Care partners need the freedom to express their emotions without feeling guilt. They need the positive reinforcement that can be given by others who know the hard work involved in providing care.
A support group gives you the chance to vent frustrations, anger and disappointments. It also is a place to share successes in a safe, non-judgmental environment. In the process, you take a first step in restructuring you life by forming new relationships with other members.
How It Works
Each group has a moderator to run the meeting. These moderators will welcome you and other members, make group announcements and send out information about the group. (i.e. welcome email messages).
During the meetings:
- Moderator opens the meeting
- You and other members of the group are usually given the opportunity for an introduction
- You are encouraged to discuss specific challenges you are experiencing
- Group members are encouraged to share their stories, coping skills, and express emotion
You are not forced or pressured to share information. The groups are structed to give you an opportunity to interact in your own way.
Group size
Each group varies in size. It depends on the format. Educational groups can be large while groups focused on support have 6-to-12 members.
How to sign up
If you would like to sign up to attend one of our Dementia Support Groups, please fill out this form.
Meetings take place on the last Thursday of the month. They start at 6:30 pm and usually last one hour.
Community Resources
Our support groups help people learn about community resources. Finding services like adult day care and transportation services can be difficult. Learning about the services available in our community can improve quality of life. Group members also share their experience with physicians they are comfortable with and nursing homes that accept dementia patients.
Caregivers
Caring for an individual with dementia requires different techniques than those needed to care for someone who is not cognitively impaired. Experienced care partners have found that some methods of providing care, ideas that may not be found in books or articles, can make caregiving easier. Sharing these ideas in a support group can prevent care partners from having to re-invent the wheel. Many caregivers find the biggest benefit they gain from support group meetings is feeling that they are not alone.
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