Page 10 - Focus March 2018

Michelle Ritona, FNP-BC, left, a family nurse practitioner from the Swank Memory Care Center at Christiana Care, helps to provide congnitive testing at St. Patrick’s Center.
Not Forgotten
Christiana Care experts provide memory and health screenings to Wilmington’s homeless
Irlene Roane stopped by St. Patrick’s Center on a winter day, looking for food and a place to get out of the wind. She found those things, as well as answers to a health concern that had been weighing heavily on her mind.
Roane, 70, of Wilmington, was worried about her cognitive health. Both her mother and sister were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which sometimes runs in families.
On Jan. 24, the day she came to St. Pat’s, Memory Ambassadors from Christiana Care’s Swank Memory Center were participating in a health fair that focused on the needs of seniors. She received immediate, on-the-spot memory testing.
8 CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM
“I learned that I am doing OK,” Roane said. “Now, I have peace of mind.”
About 25 percent of older adults living on the street are believed to have some sort of memory impairment. Often, their needs are complex, with multiple behavioral health
Band medical concerns.
ringing screenings and information directly to people who may need them makes care more accessible, said
James M. Ellison, M.D., MPH, The Swank Foundation Endowed Chair in Memory Care and Geriatrics. Through partnership with St. Pat's, which provides emergency food, meals, transportation and respite for
homeless people in Wilmington, Christiana Care is able to provide medical and behavioral health support to many people who otherwise might never have access
to care.
25% percent of older, homeless adults
are believed to have some sort of memory impairment.