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Johnston County Alzheimer’s Project seeks to develop facilities, resources
from February 2020
by Johnston Now
By Randy Capps
The statistics for the spread of Alzheimer’s disease are staggering.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org), someone in the United States develops the disease every 65 seconds. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in this country, and 5.8 million people are living with Alzheimer’s in America. On top of that, more than 16 million people provide unpaid care for people dealing with dementias.
For David Wilson, project coordinator for the Johnston County Alzheimer’s Project, these numbers and the rate at which they’re growing lead to an important question locally.
“Where are all of these people going to go? This disease is exploding,” he said. “The numbers are scary.”
Despite the rising number of people affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias, there are very few places in Johnston and the surrounding counties that offer “lockdown facilities” — or places that can ensure that patients don’t leave the premisis without supervision.
With that in mind, he’s leading the charge to get a new facility built here in Johnston County.
The Johnston County Alzheimer’s Project is circulating a petition that reads as follows:
“Due to the increase of Alzheimer’s and dementia here in Johnston County and the state of North Carolina and the urgent need for resources, we are a grassroots organization uniting the county to develop an Alzheimer’s/ Dementia Medical Park. It would include divisions and facilities for evaluations, diagnostics and testing; a research and development division that can partner with Chapel Hill and Duke; a psychiatric and psychological counseling; family counseling and support groups; a family community center; patient lockdown living units and more. An Alzheimer’s and Dementia memorial wall will also be included at this site.”
“We can have all the resources in one area,” Wilson said. “I’m afraid that, if we don’t get something together, we’re going to have a lot of Alzheimer’s patients here in Johnston County and they aren’t going to have anywhere to go.”
He imagines such a place growing to become similar to St. Jude’s or a Shriners Hospital.
His passion in fighting the disease comes from his own struggles caring for his wife, Judith.
“When I go over and see her, she doesn’t remember my name,” he said. “She doesn’t remember that we’re married. My wife and I have been together for 30 years. ... There might not be much I can do for my wife right now. But I’m hoping that maybe there’s something I can do for other people in the community who are going through this.”
To learn more, contact David Wilson at 919-631-6582.
