T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Residents and staff of the Iowa Veterans Home wore purple and participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on campus Friday morning. It was the first time such an event had been held at IVH since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As 120 of the Iowa Veterans Home’s approximately 400 residents are currently affected by dementia in one form or another, awareness of a disease like Alzheimer’s is especially important at the Marshalltown facility.

On Friday morning, about 60 IVH residents and staff participated in the first on-campus Walk to End Alzheimer’s since the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to raising awareness, Activities Specialist Supervisor Sierra Augspurger said the event provides support for the caregivers of those who have the disease and honors those who are living with it as well as those who have passed.

“We had a great turnout today, and we’re hoping to just grow each year from that. They love getting outside and being around each other,” Augspurger said.

Kristy Kelley, the nursing services director for the Ulery Memory Care building, said the walk was also a precursor for a larger walk set for next weekend in Des Moines, with several IVH employees planning to attend. A larger goal for next year, according to Kelley, is to host a community Alzheimer’s Walk in Marshalltown in partnership with the 13th Street District.

“We would love to plan a walk with them just to raise awareness because, you know, dementia and Alzheimer’s is affecting so many people and here we are, number one long term care facility in the state, with 120 people affected,” Kelley said. “It’s needed, and we want to support our families.”

She added that IVH plans to start a support group with both online and in-person options.

“It’s hard to deal with it, and so many of them are at home right now dealing with it. And they come to us, and it’s not an easy transition,” Kelley said.

To learn more about Alzheimer’s Walks and their locations and dates around the country, visit https://act.alz.org/site/SPageServer/?pagename=walk_homepage.