Florida Atlantic University’s Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing broke ground on a 5,000-square-foot extension to the Center on the Boca Raton campus today. The extension, which will be connected to the current Center via a covered walkway, is expected to be completed in late 2013. The Memory and Wellness Center will be open during construction and is accepting applications for current and future openings for participants in the Center program.
Louis and Anne Green announced a commitment to support the expansion of the Center in December 2012. “Dementia is a terrible affliction,” said Louis Green, who helped fund the original building in 2004. “Anne and I identified a need after seeing so many local families affected. There were not adequate facilities here to help people deal with memory loss and all that comes with it. As the number of people diagnosed with dementia continues to grow, we saw a need to grow the Memory and Wellness Center.”
The addition will house a large multipurpose room for Center activities and community education as well as a kitchen, an art studio, nurse and case manager offices and treatment rooms. The increased capacity will enable the Center to serve more individuals in the community who suffer from memory loss and their caregivers.
“We are deeply grateful to Louis and Anne Green for joining hands with us to take the Center into the next phase of its development,” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “Our University and our community could not ask for better friends than these caring philanthropists, who are making a real difference in thousands of lives through their generous gifts.”
The Center averages 16,000 visits per year and offers a wide range of services and programs to individuals with mild to moderate memory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Visits begin with a comprehensive memory evaluation. The evaluation results often help diagnose a memory disorder and develop a treatment plan in cooperation with a patient’s physicians.
The Center provides an active and secure place for families to bring spouses or parents who are experiencing memory loss, and the caregiver support programs have a positive impact on life at home. In January 2013, the Center was been named a “Specialized Alzheimer’s Services Center” by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration’s Division of Health Quality Assurance. The dementia-specific adult day center was the first to receive the designation.