Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Opens
A new center to help victims of Alzheimer’s disease and their families opens today at the Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center, 1530 Wilshire Blvd.
The center, which is operated by the Westside Independent Services to the Elderly, is a pilot project funded partially by a grant from the state Department of Aging. Space for the center is provided by Santa Monica Hospital for a rental fee of $1 a year, according to center spokesman Myra Taylor.
The WISE Care Center will accept only clients who have been diagnosed by a doctor as having Alzheimer’s disease and who are under a physician’s care. The program will offer social, recreational and educational assistance to the patients and their families.
Day care for patients will be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday and counseling for patients and their families will be scheduled at various times. Support groups for family care givers will meet twice monthly.
“We will take people who are wanderers, agitators or incontinent,” Taylor said.
The project will serve the communities of Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, Venice, Culver City and Inglewood. Fees are on a sliding scale based on the income of the client, not his family.
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