Marco Dementia Respite Celebrates the Holidays with Family and Friends

Marco Dementia Respite (MDR) just celebrated their one-year anniversary on September 12th and Tim Rose, MDR’s Board Chair, said “we far exceeded our expectations in just over a year.”

On December 12th, MDR celebrated their first annual holiday party for participants, caregivers, volunteers, staff and board members at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 1101 N. Collier Blvd. According to Rose, this new location allows MDR a lot of growth potential for their two cornerstone programs, a four-hour participant program and a 90-minute caregiver support group, which operate on Mondays and Wednesdays starting at 10:30 AM.

Marco Dementia Respite is an oasis program and exists to provide a safe spot for Marco area residents diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s/Dementia at no cost to participants. Due to the increased demand, they added a program to meet a critical need on Marco Island – a Caregiver Support Group. According to Rose, the demand for the support group has exploded and you don’t need to have a participant in the program to join the group.

Susan Gardner, a Marco resident, has been a participant in the Caregiver Support Group from the beginning and shared, “We laugh and cry together and most of us were lost till we found this program. And a year later, we’ve bonded. Now we know that we can reach out to each other and say, ‘help me.’”

Susan’s wish is for the program to grow to the point that it is offered every single day and that everyone in the community is aware and feels comfortable reaching out. Susan’s husband has been a participant in the MDR program since it began a year ago.

Denise Rose, MDR’s Program Director and a member of the board, has seen the growth of the program in just over a year. “To go from one day to two days was amazing because the need is greater than anybody ever thought. We have a capacity of 14 participants for both days and might add a third day for seasonal participants. We have twenty volunteers in the program right now and could always use additional volunteers.”

Looking back at how it all got started, Rose said that “just six months prior to their September 12, 2022 launch, a group of like-minded residents saw there was a need and realized that we should do something. We all came together and started brainstorming and MDR came out of that.”

For 2024 Rose said, “MDR is very excited to introduce a brand-new program – the Memory Assessment Center (MAC). Dr. Paul Nussbaum will be the Executive Director and this will be a proactive assessment resource open to all people in our trade area (Marco Island, Goodland, Isle of Capri, out to 951/41 corridor to Lely and Verona Walk).”

For a look ahead to the future, Rose said, “we will still be offering our cornerstone program, which is taking care of those afflicted with early stages of Alzheimer/Dementia and continue our Care Giver Support Group.”

Rose also said, “we are in discussions with other groups on the Island who have the same interest as us to bring a senior center in one central location where seniors can go. We have a lot of seniors' activities but they are spread out and it is hard to keep track of, and we hope that will change in the near future.”

“MDR does not want to operate a senior center,” Rose clarified, “as that is not our strength. But we see a need and we want to be one spoke in the wheel in the development of a senior center. There are people with that objective in mind and we are talking to them - the option is wide open as far as starting a new facility out of the ground or taking over an existing one. We are looking for a home which will also offer 10-15 other activities for seniors of all capabilities.”

If you are interested in becoming part of the MDR family please call: 239-877-7213 or email: info@marcodementiarespite.org.