To earn the recognition, businesses must complete a training course and additional requirements. The goal of the designation is to create a Dementia Friendly community that is informed and respectful of individuals with the disease, their families and caregivers and provides supportive options to foster quality of life.

Bluegrass PACE Care opened in July of 2022 as the first Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Kentucky. The PACE program assisted aging Kentuckians to remain independent at home, by coordinating all aspects of participants’ care through a comprehensive team of clinicians and services provided in the home and at the PACE center. 

“The designation of Dementia Friendly aligns with our goal of providing personalized care to PACE participants in our community, with the goal of being able to age in place at home. Our PACE team is proud to have partnered with Dementia Friendly Lexington as we provide this specialized care,” Kathy Yates, PACE Center Director, said.

“This movement to make our city Dementia Friendly has been a dream of Lexington native, 99-year-old Virginia Bell,” Amber Lakin, Chairperson of the Dementia Friendly Lexington Advisory Board, said.

Virginia Bell, who opened the Best Friends Day Center, is an author and world-renowned speaker on dementia. She has been a pioneer in supporting dementia for the last 50 years. This movement is also supported by Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, many volunteers and businesses. Not only is Lexington fortunate to have Virginia Bell and so many Lexington citizens supporting persons living with dementia, but Lexington is also home to the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. The Sanders-Brown Center on Aging works to improve the health of older adults in Kentucky through research, education and outreach dedicated to understanding healthy brain aging and age-related brain diseases. Lexington is paving the way to become one of the best dementia friendly cities in the Dementia Friendly America network.

“The designation of Dementia Friendly aligns with our goal of providing personalized care to PACE participants in our community, with the goal of being able to age in place at home. Our PACE team is proud to have partnered with Dementia Friendly Lexington as we provide this specialized care,” Kathy Yates, PACE Center Director, said.

Any business can register to become Dementia Friendly. Once the business has fulfilled all the requirements, they will receive a Dementia Friendly logo window cling to be displayed at the business location and become part of the Dementia Friendly Lexington network. We hope to plant the Dementia Friendly seed and watch the Dementia Friendly Lexington logo start blooming across our city.

For more information about Dementia Friendly, visit their website.

About Bluegrass Care Navigators

Headquartered in Lexington, Bluegrass Care Navigators provides hospice care in 32 counties across northern, central and eastern Kentucky. In addition, the agency supports those facing serious illness or chronic disease through PACE, private duty nursing, home primary care, transitional care, adult day health care and palliative care services. For more information, visit www.bgcarenav.org or call 855-492-0812.