St Lucia Respite Care

Hello Supporters! My name is Regina Posvar, I am a Lisenced Nurse of 20+ years in the US, and also an Alzheimer's and Dementia Cunsultant/ RNA in St. Lucia. I came to this beautiful Island about thre years ago and became friends with a family who had a loved one with Alzheimer's. She is in late stages "Pearl" and was found with bed sores. They do not have home health services out here but found that they do have some nursing assistance in the home if families inquire. Just like a lot of places Nurses are over loaded with patients and have more assignments than can handle so i volunteered to care for the sores. it took the family and I almost a year to get them all healed but they are healed. Because of my dementia background the family strongly encouraged me to share my knowledge and experiences to the Island as the stigma is profound and there are many people here with some form of dementia. So my journey started in 2013 with support groups and awareness workshops that teach and train families and health professionals communication skills for those living with dementia while supporting families with respite care. We have a long ways to go to reach the Island. There are no community based homes that specialize in Dementia care here.  Most care is given in the home by one family member. Some have more support but become depleted of finances and own health. We now have a small Association to help advocate to reduce stigma and support. We partner with Angels of the West Indies who has been our dementia training center and between AWI & Saint Lucia Alzheimer's Association we are campaigning for world Alzheimer's Day on September 21st 2016. Locally we are collecting dimes as our campaign. The Island stopped circulating their pennies and 2 cents so Saint Lucia has not a Penny for a Thought, But share a Dime To Mend the Mind Forget Her Not Please help support our cause to assist families with respite care and bring brain health awareness to our Island.
www.angelsofthewestindies.com  you can also reach us on FB

Best To You,
Regina*