Grants help state with services for Alzheimer’s patients and elderly

The state’s getting a one million dollar grant to devise ways to help Alzheimer’s patients in rural Iowa stay in their homes longer. Governor Tom Vilsack says the money may lead to new community services for Alzheimer’s patients.Vilsack says part of the grant will be used to set up audio and video monitors in a few patients’ homes to see if that kind of long-distance care works. In addition, the state’s getting a 300-thousand dollar grant from a private foundation to study what kind of housing is available for Iowa seniors.Vilsack says the state is aggressively pursuing grants from the federal government and private sources to try to expand and improve care for Iowa’s elderly.Thirty-four agencies around the state are getting 11-and-a-half million dollars in grants to either convert nursing home beds to assisted living apartments or to start adult day care operations. Governor Tom Vilsack says the money comes from the state’s new “senior living trust fund” which comes from the feds.Vilsack says the program helps convert unused nursing home space to the kinds of services demanded by Iowa Seniors.The following facilities will be getting grants: Aase Haugen Homes, Decorah, $360,000; Avera Holy Family Health, Estherville, $150,000; Community Memorial Health Center, Hartley, $225,000; Correctionville Nursing and Rehab Center, Correctionville, $460,000; Delaware County Senior Citizens Center, Masonville, $150,000; Eldora Nursing and Rehab Center, Eldora, $415,000; Elkader Care Center, Elkader, $405,000; Elmwood Care Center, Onawa, $450,000; Emmetsburg Care Center, Emmetsburg, $450,000; Golden Age Care Center, Centerville, $675,000; Good Samaritan Center, Forest City, $100,000; Good Samaritan Center, Holstein, $51,176; Good Samaritan Center, Mason City, $1,000,000; Great River Care Center, McGregor, $405,000; Holy Spirit Retirement Home, Sioux City, $91,736; Maple Heights, Mapleton, $270,000; Parkview Manor, Wellman, $1,000,000; Pleasant View Care Center, Whiting, $550,000; Pomeroy Care Center, Pomeroy, $550,000; Rose Vista Home, Woodbine, $1,450,000; Sigourney Care Center, Sigourney, $405,000; St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital and Nursing Home, Carroll, $150,000; Stonehill Adult Center, Dubuque, $150,000; Sunrise Retirement Community, Sioux City, $301,149; Sunrise Terrace Care Center, Winfield, $315,000; Wheatland Manor, Wheatland, $315,000; Willow Dale Care Center, Battle Creek, $360,000.