Thelma's Place receives a $2,500 donation from Willamette Falls Hospital Cornerstone.

Mike Drake, Willamette Falls Hospital Foundation Executive Director, is to the left, next to Margie Ross, Chair of Cornerstone society, Niki Umbenhower, Executive director of Thelma's Place and Mary Reitan, board member of Thelma's Place, are on the right.

Canby, OR - October 23, 2008

Thelma's Place announced today that it has received a $2,500.00 donation from Willamette Falls Hospital Cornerstone, which is their employee charitable giving society. This donation from the hospital will be used to fund the brain strengthening program, The Ever Changing Mind™, at Thelma's Place.

"We are pleased that Willamette Falls Hospital chose to recognize the importance of the brain strengthening program by making this generous gift," said Niki Umbenhower, Executive Director of Thelma's Place. "This donation will go a long way towards helping us begin a program that offers the help and encouragement so needed by those experiencing memory loss due to Alzheimer's or other dementia".

According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's. This figure includes over 80,000 Oregonians who are struggling, along with their caregivers, to cope with this very difficult disease.

Founded in 2008, Thelma's Place is a non-profit resource center for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. Their comprehensive services are designed to serve not only the person with the disease, but also the family, private and professional caregivers, and individuals interested in learning more about dementia. The services include Adult Day/respite care, and a specialized brain strengthening program called the Ever Changing Mind™.

Lee Paton, Ph.D, a gerontologist and dementia specialist, created The Ever Changing Mind™. While there are many brain training programs designed for healthy people, very few of them address the needs of people with memory and cognitive deficits. The original intent was to offer the program to people with mild cognitive impairment and those in the early stages of the disease; however, given the tremendous interest in the program, Dr. Paton has designed a companion program for the "worried well" that includes the same educational component with more advanced cognitive exercises.

Classes will begin soon. For more information visit ww.thelmasplace.org

Thelma's Place
352 NW 2nd Avenue
Canby, OR 97013