We are pleased to announce that our Wellness Initiative is expanding. The Wellness Initiative, currently led by Laura Rice-Oeschger, LMSW, focuses on creating a community of resilient caregivers in the greater Ann Arbor area. Laura leads several groups for family caregivers of persons living with a dementia, including: Catching Your Breath, a free monthly program for learning and practicing stress resilience skills for continued health, balance and well-being, Caregiver Wellness Days, half-day wellness, creativity and social retreats for care partners of adults living with memory loss at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and Mindfulness Based Dementia Care, an 8-week program designed for family caregivers of adults living with memory loss that teaches how the practice of mindfulness can help cope with the challenges and stresses of dementia care.
As our Center grows, we want to expand our vision of the Wellness Initiative to include individuals living with a dementia, as well as brain health, wellness, and dementia education for youth and students interested in careers in dementia care. In order to accomplish these goals, we hired Ashley Miller, MPH. As Wellness Coordinator, Ashley’s main focus is to expand Center programs to individuals living with a dementia. She is passionate about using the arts as a means for social engagement, coping, and enjoyment and hopes to incorporate creative and expressive arts within this programming.
We strive to build a community of resilient caregivers, and a warm and welcoming community for people living with memory loss. We hope this programming will provide support to all of our research participants living with memory loss who give their time each year to participate in our research studies and to support dementia research.
For more information about this expansion, visit our website here or contact Ashley Miller at 734-615-8293.