12 • SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019 • CAREGIVER
BEATING ISOLATION
POINTS OF CONNECTION
Memory Cafés give dementia patients, caregivers chance to get out, spend time with others
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network employee, Melissa Tomko (far left) spends time talking to attendees of the monthly Memory Café at
Somma Pizza in Plum Borough. Pictured attendees from left to right are George and Kathy Ilkka and George and Monica Kupfer.
Carrie Chiusano had been wanting to start
a Memory Café for the residents of Presbyterian
SeniorCare Network’s Longwood at
Oakmont campus for a while before getting
the project off the ground several years ago.
The idea, which began in the Netherlands
more than 20 years ago, is simple, yet so
necessary: Provide a space for caregivers and
their loved ones suffering from dementia to
get out, perhaps enjoy a meal, and enjoy the
company of others in a safe, judgment-free
setting.
“There was one gentleman who said to
me, ‘I stay in more than I go out, and we
used to go out all the time, but people give
you a look when your wife picks up her
mashed potatoes and eats them with her
fingers,’” she said. “I said it’s time to make
this happen.”
Presbyterian SeniorCare now hosts a
number of Memory Café meet-ups across
Western Pennsylvania, adding to a growing
number of similar offerings around the region.
They are open to anyone, whether the
caregiver or loved one has an affiliation with
the host or not, and are offered monthly.
Some meetings are held at restaurants,
others at community centers and churches.
Caregivers can come with their loved ones
or without. They all vary in their individual
offerings as well. Some are more structured,
with discussion topics or even speakers,
and some provide just an opportunity to sit
down, order food and enjoy socializing.
Lore Swigart, of Murrysville, began attending
the Memory Café sponsored by Arden
Courts of Monroeville that’s held at Panera
Bread’s Penn Center East location in Monroeville
the second Tuesday of every month
after her father’s condition declined rapidly.
He is a resident of Arden Courts’ memory
care unit, and Swigart and her husband find
PRESBYTERIAN SENIORCARE NETWORK
camaraderie and support in the monthly
meetings.
“It’s very informal and welcoming,”
Swigart said. “Everyone there is in a similar
situation, or they have been, and they make
you feel very welcomed. It’s easy to talk,
easy to be open about whatever you want to
talk about. The other thing that helps is that
you’re not only on the receiving end, but
you feel like you can help someone else, too.
“There have been new people who’ve
come the last few times and you hear
and see their pain and what they’re going
through, and I think they can walk away
feeling like there are options and people
who understand. You can learn so many
things there, tools you can use to help you
through your situation that you might not
have been aware of.”
Jeanni Watson is the marketing director
of Arden Courts Memory Care Community,
which sponsors not only the café at Panera
BY KAREN PRICE
FOR TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
If you want to go ...
MONROEVILLE
• Sponsored by Arden Courts of
Monroeville
Meets at Panera Bread, 400 Penn
Center Blvd., 15235, 10 to 11 a.m.,
second Tuesday of every month.
For more information, call
412-380-1300.
• Sponsored by Arden Courts of
Monroeville
Meets at Monroeville Senior Center,
6000 Gateway Campus Blvd., 15146,
10 to 11 a.m., second Monday of each
month.
For more information, call
412-380-1300.
NEW CASTLE
• Sponsored by Presbyterian
SeniorCare Network
Meets at Tuscany Square Ristorante,
3470 Wilmington Road, 16105, 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m., first Thursday of every
month.
For more information, call Shawna
Bostaph at 724-946-3402.
OAKMONT/PLUM
• Sponsored by Presbyterian
SeniorCare Network
Meets at Somma Pizza, 380
Coxcomb Hill Road, 15147, 11:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m., second Wednesday of every
month.
For more information, call Carrie
Chiusano at 412-826-6065.
PLUM
• Sponsored by Arden Courts of
Monroeville
Meets at Plum Boro Senior Center,
499 Center-New Texas Road, 15239,
11 a.m. to noon, second Thursday of
every month.
For more information, call
412-380-1300.
WASHINGTON
• Sponsored by Presbyterian
SeniorCare Network
Meets at Eat’n Park Restaurant, 320
Oak Spring Road, 15301, 10 a.m. to
noon, third Saturday of every month.
For more information, call Gina
Iuliucci at 724-223-4992.
VENETIA
• Meets at St. David’s Church, 905 E.
McMurray Road, 15367, 1 to 3 p.m.,
first Saturday of every month.
For more information, email Sue
Schmidt at sue.schmidty@gmail.com.