About 3.2 million people in India are affected by Alzheimer's and other forms of Dementia. By 2016 there will be 113 million people over 60 and above. Of which 10% of them over 65 and almost half of them over 85 will have the disease.
Mission Statement
ARDSI Calcutta is dedicated to supporting and
educating carers and the community in the identification and
management of dementia and related disorders
.
Vision Statement
To develop high level awareness of current and future
Dementia related issues amongst Government, Medical Professionals,
Corporates, Society and Individuals to assist with the management of the
disease and the levels of support offered to those affected by it. To
build a network of campuses which provide information, education,
support and care for all persons with Dementia and those involved in
managing the disease.
Core Values
The Corporate Values governing ARDSI Calcutta’s operations and development include:
• Total respect for all clients, families, supporters
and carers in all our actions and decisions.
• We will be constantly aware of the feelings of all people involved
displaying genuine compassion and sensitivity in all our
dealings.
• We will ensure the dignity of all individuals entrusted to our care
is maintained at the highest possible levels throughout all our
dealings with them.
• We will operate with the highest levels of
professionalism, integrity and teamwork to ensure the best possible
outcomes for all those who come into contact with our organisation.
ACTIVITIES 2005
Our year started with ARDSI being granted the 12
A & 80 G exemption and being chosen as one of the 3 NGO’s
in India by the International Federation of Aging on the basis of a
paper presented reflecting our goals/values and philosophy to work on
the BUILDING CAPACITY IN HEALTH CARE PROJECT.
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
CARERS TRAINING PROGRAM - QUALITY DEMENTIA CARE
TRAINING PROGRAM was conducted with CMIG & SNMA. Training was aimed
at provision of support to
persons suffering from dementia & their
families in a variety of settings including family houses and community
day care centers.
A total of 30 carers participated in the program and
received our certificate of participation. A special note of thanks for
Mrs. Bela Mukherjee and Ms. Ranjana Mondal.
We also conducted a special session with counselors
under the Government of India programme from District Level preparing
them as counselors in Dementia care.
AWARENESS PROGRAMS:
As part of awareness campaign,World Alzheimer
Day 2005 programme was The Month of Memories. The Theme was “We
can Make a difference”. The month program was supported by Eisai
Pharmaceuticals.
•Training of Dementia Carers with Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology 31st of August to 2nd of September
•Meeting with the Director, National Institute of Social Defense, Govt. of India and introducing Dementia care to the Government agenda on the National Policy of
Elders.
•Meeting on the 12th of September with delegates of all elderly care organizations in the eastern region of India and officials from NISD to prepare a draft of legislation for the elderly population in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
•Bank Awareness on special needs of Alzheimer victims in their bank work all over Kolkata
•Show titled“Drifting through time – the story of Alzheimers” produced by ARDSI and funded by WHO & Ministry of Health, Govt. Of India at Rotary Sadan Auditorium on the 17th of September. A special thanks to Novartis and Eisai Pharmaceuticals for their support.
•Radio talk show with Power FM on the 21st of September
•Awareness talk programme on All India Radio on warning signals of Alzheimers.
•Awareness programme on Alzheimer disease and caregiving with the Sebabrati trainies with Saroj Nalini Memorial Association on 23rd of Sept.
•An awareness campaign at Burdawan town with 25 -30 people from different walks of life, eg, doctors, social workers, administrators, politicians, teachers,
professors, nursing staff, NGO' who in turn can sensitize their own community on the 24th of September.
•Interactive session on Dementia Care with Doctors, professional caregiver, Family Carers and persons with Dementia on the 30th of September at Bangur institute of Neurology.
•At IIT kharagpur , Mr. Deepak Mitra presented a paper in a Seminar on Old Age & Dying in November.
•ARDSI Calcutta participated in the Health & Wellbeing show at Grand Oberoi and had interactive sessions on issues of Dementia in April.
•ARDSI Calcutta was featured in graffiti magazine in The Telegraph Newspaper from june 2005 till December 2005. The society received around 150 Calls for help on Dementia from the campaign.
•ARDSI Calcutta participated in the Kolkata Marathon, 2006. The event was partly supported by Connective Systems PVT. LTD. A software company in Salt Lake, sector5.
•A Bengali version of “Carer Tips Manual” was done by Mr. Deepak Mitra and printed by Eisai Pharmaceuticals.
•Carers support group services
•It was formally launched by ARDSI in association with Novartis India LTD. on 28th of January, 2006. The group meets once a month and is represented by former
carers, present carers, doctors, professional from various backgrounds. The group plans to come out with a quarterly newsletter soon. We had 4 meetings.
•Homecare visits/services- 96 + contacted the society last year.
ARDSI Calcutta has been going out in the community and
helping family carers deal with the disease. All the referrals have
been from Doctors involved with ARDSI and beyond the society. Also, a
quite a few trained carers have been engaged in Homecare services
through ARDSI in the community.
FUNDRAISING
The society received few donations in the past year
besides few life membership fees.
Memory Clinic
A memory clinic was opened at NNC Peerless Hospital.
ARDSI’s association remains with carers at the clinic. A leaflet is
distributed at the clinic carrying information on ARDSI work and
services.
ACTIVITIES 2006
BEST DEMENTIA CARER AWARD BY Dr. (Mrs) Veena Chhotray,
Secretary, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India
Top 3D Vision of ARDSI Calcutta New office
One of the very successful events in the year 2006-2007 was ARDSI Calcutta acquiring its own office space. The work of setting up
the new office is near completion and the society would henceforth operate from its new premises at 15/3C Naskarpara Lane, Kolkata 31. Various activities like home visits, counseling of family carers, a memory clinic, training of professional carers, carer support meetings will be conducted at the new office, besides, awareness campaigns and seminars/workshops all over eastern India and specially at all district head-quarters.
IFA conference in Denmark
•As a participant of the IFA’s “Building Capacity in Healthcare Project” ARDSI Calcutta presented its project paper at the IFA conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in May.
Day Care Center, Paris
•As part of international exposure to Dementia Care in European Union, Day Care Centers/Institutes were visited in Paris to get a better understanding of various innovative approaches.
Carer session in NIMS, Hyderabad
•As part of spreading awareness among family carers on effective management of Dementia ARDSI Calcutta was
invited by the Department of Neurology, NIMS in Hyderabad.
•ARDSI Calcutta observed WAD 2006 from the 16th of September till the 24th of September. The week long observation included carer sessions, dementia awareness in old age homes, hospital awareness on dementia care and appealing for a Alzheimer care unit in hospitals, awareness of medical personnel on effective referrals and correct diagnosis, memory screening camp, essay competition entitled "Teenage Voice on Alzheimer's Disease." with schools in kolkata, Seminars at Geriatric research centers, awareness campaigns in suburban Bengal, Dementia Awareness through Media programs, workshop on homecare & community care services and finally a visit to the Health Minister of Bengal with a report on Dementia in the Asia Pacific Region – The Epidemic is here.
Homecare Service
•As part of its Homecare service, ARDSI Calcutta has been going out in the community and helping family carers deal with the disease. All the referrals have been from
doctors involved with ARDSI and beyond the society. Also, quite a few trained carers continue to be engaged in Homecare/Personal care services through ARDSI in the community
Homecare Service
•Home-visits, which is the highlight among all the services ARDSI Calcutta provides, has increased since the society started it from 2004. On an average, the society would make at the most 3 visits a month back in 2004. Early 2007, the number of home visits are 4-5 times a week. The society considers this service as an excellent tool for understanding & bonding with the families affected by the disease.
Carer Support Group Meetings
•Carer support groups formally launched by ARDSI Calcutta continues to meet once a month and is represented by former carers, present carers, doctors, professional from various backgrounds
Dementia Care Trainings
QUALITY DEMENTIA CARE TRAINING PROGRAM was conducted as part of the Management of Dementia”
training course introduced by the Ministry of Social Empowerment & Justice, Govt. of India. The sessions included theoretical exposure to effective management of behavioral problems of dementia, family carer perspective on Dementia patient, video presentation on cases of dementia and finally practical exposure of the participants to dementia patients, whereby the participants visited Dementia patients in their home set-up and gathered first hand experience. A total of 70 participants was part of the program. ARDSI Calcutta is well positioned to deal with what will be a challenging future. The organization has a talented and committed Board and members who are not only capable but also innovative and responsive to changes in the environment. We approach the future with confidence and enthusiasm
ACTIVITIES 2007
Accompanied with a vision to create widespread awareness and
acceptance of Dementia throughout rural and urban Eastern India via
continued education and
advocacy, ARDSI Calcutta continued with its ongoing activities in 2007 based on its value of :
•Understanding the unique needs of people with dementia and their carers
•Encouraging partnership & collaborative efforts
•Accountability & Viability
•Dignity & Respect
•Innovation & Creativity
At ARDSI Calcutta, our philosophy is focused on the unique individuality of people affected by Dementia. We consider Dementia a human experience, rather than a purely biological condition and therefore our holistic approach that recognizes and respects the individuality of those affected by dementia and their carers. And with a purpose to provide representation and support of individuals with dementia and their carers, at personal, community and political level, we observed various activities
around the year. ARDSI memory Clinic: ARDSI new office started operating as an administrative office from where we provide information on dementia, counseling, telephonic helpline as well as a memory clinic. The clinic was opened by Eisai Pharma ltd. and operates last Sunday of every month and is conducted by Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Neurologist & Dr. Aparna Dutta, Neuropychologist, Apollo Gleneagles, Kolkata. Memory Screening camp
ARDSI Calcutta conducts memory screening camps in the community to
identify people with memory problems.
ARDSI Carer Training
Year 2007-2008 saw ARDSI Calcutta conduct 3 Carer Training programs.
One at CMIG with Ministry of Social Justice & empowerment, Govt. of
India on March 25 TO 29TH 2008 & the other was with ARDSI Bangalore
from 18 to 20 Feb, 2008 & the last one was at Mon Foundation with
the Nurses Association, Medical College, Kolkata
ARDSI Carer Support Group:
ARDSI Calcutta supported Family Carers with various educational
programs. Besides 2 group meetings at Kolkata, ARDSI Calcutta was
invited by ARDSI Bangalore.
Old Age Home Awareness Sessions
ARDSI Calcutta visited old homes to raise awareness of Dementia among
the staff
World Alzheimer’s Day observation :
ARDSI Calcutta celebrated WAD with its Newsletter Launch and various
other educational/recreational/fundraising programs.
Dementia Awareness with State Government on Elders Day
Mental health Day Collaborative Efforts with SCC, WA
SCC CEO, Stuart Flynn visited ARDSI Calcutta to conduct a workshop with Board members on strategic mgmt and long term goals of the society and the collaboration. ARDSI Calcutta also conducted a Dementia Care Awareness program at a Doctors forum on the 3 of February, 2008, involving Physicians from all departments. ARDSI Calcutta also participated to raise awareness among general public in the Kolkata Marathon 3 rd of February, 2008.
Carer support meeting was held at Apollo Gleneagles, kolkata with Dr. Julie Snowden from UK on the 8th of February, 2008
Total patients registered with ARDSI Calcutta in the year 2007-2008: 81 Profile of patients:
Age: Average 70/ Sex: Male 60% Female 40%
Type of dementia:
AD- 40%
PD- 20%
VD- 30%
DLB- 5%
PDP-5%
CJD- 1
patient
Services provided ranged from Counseling on Behavioral management of a
person with dementia to family carers, Home visits to sketch a careplan
for the family, Helpline, matching professional carers for a family
with a person with dementia, providing training to family carers as well
as hired carers at home.
Overall the Year saw major increase in the awareness among general
public and recognition of dementia. ARDSI Calcutta as a society is also
known to a lot of organizations and medical community.
We look forward to an exciting year ahead. The much needed and awaited
Daycare Centre project has to be materialized and ARDSI Calcutta needs a
lot of commitment and dedication from all life members and their
families and friends to make this project successful.
LOOKING BACK AT 2008- Prayerful hope
Mr. T. K. Roychowdhuri ….A dedicated volunteer
reports 2008
ARDSI Calcutta activities-
For the ever increasing number of the people with
Dementia
and their families, it was a long-felt urgent necessity.
For
ARDSI Calcutta, it was a long-cherished dream. Both was
finally
fulfilled last year as the first specialised Dementia
daycare
centre in the entire eastern and north-eastern region of
India
was inaugurated at Ankur, Regent Estate, on July 27 and
started
functioning from November last year. In between, on the
eve of
the World Alzheimer's Day 2008, the Governor of West
Bengal,
Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, ceremonially dedicated the
facility to
the service of community. At a distinguished
congregation at
Nandan on September 20, the Governor said: "It would be
ironic to say that I have great pleasure to dedicate the
Dementia daycare centre. I would say I have great
fulfillment,
great satisfaction and great prayerful hope as I
dedicate this
centre." This sums up the importance and responsibility
of
the daycare centre in the modern way of holistic
treatment and
care for the people with Dementia.
As the end of the year 2008 drew near, Mrs Shipra
Sengupta, a
family carer in her seventies whose husband, a Berkeley
PhD and
a globe-trotter in his heyday, has been regularly
attending the
daycare centre, song a beautiful Rabindrasangeet and
commented
at a carer support group meet at Ankur on December 25:
"I
have seen definite qualitative improvement in my
husband's life
after attending the daycare centre. And, very
importantly, I am
getting the much-needed respite, some time off my caring
role
when I can shop, socialize, read and do a lot of
pressing work
which cannot stop but which I was finding difficult to
discharge
before." That day Mrs Sengupta brought sweets for all of
us, while Dr Sengupta left us spell-bound with a song of
Rabindranath. Isn't that enough to feel adequately
satisfied
with the progress made by ARDSI Calcutta during 2008?
Maybe not. True, 2008 Kolkata witnessed a pioneering
project -
the daycare centre - taking shape, which defines the
highest
point of ARDSI Calcutta's journey with the mission to
tackle
Dementia, the stark reality demands more such centres at
different localities, residential home, lot more care
and
support services, more trained professional care givers,
more
awareness, more efforts to ensure early diagnosis, more
study
and research work and so on. Miles to go, there is
absolutely no
room to stand and stare.
The expansion project drawn up by ARDSI Calcutta, which
took off
with the Ankur centre, is a confirmation of this
reality. The
project envisages setting up daycare centres, 24x7
respite home,
an integrated central hub with carer training and
research
facilities where all Dementia services and
administration can be
accessed, and reaching out to other towns and rural
areas. This
is a tall task requiring huge resources and involvement
of every
section of the society. In other words, we need a strong
Dementia solidarity.
The ARDSI Calcutta primary focus on awareness building
continued
in 2008 with 17 awareness camps organised targeting
various
sections of the society. The camps included those at
Saturday
Club, ITC Ladies Welfare Society, ……… Four
memory-screening-cum-awareness camps were held during
the year.
Dr Amitabha Ghosh, neurologist, and Dr Aparna Dutta,
neuro-pychologist conducted six memory clinics where 24
persons
were attended to and assessed. Over the previous year
(2007)
there was an over 25 per cent rise in the number of
patients who
were given care counseling, including home visits. As
many as 97
patients (46 female, 51 male) were served in 2008, while
in
2007, 64 patients (36 female, 28 male) availed of the
counseling
service. Constant follow-up was carried out with 112
post-counseling enquiries made in 2008. Six carer
support
programmes were held, which included one at Apollo
Gleneagles
Hospital which was addressed by Dr Julie Snowden,
consultant
neuro-psychologist at the cerebral function unit at
Greater
Manchester Neuro-Science Centre, UK.
Training in Dementia care is an important area of the
NGO's
activity. ARDSI Calcutta was invited to impart training
by the
Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (5-day
course
conducted in association with the ministry of social
justice and
empowerment, government of India), ARDSI Bangalore and
Hyderabad
chapters and Mon Foundation (in association with Nurses
Association, Medical College). A week-long training
programme
was conducted at the ARDSI Calcutta daycare centre. The
Calcutta
University, in association with CMIG, has started a
post-graduate diploma course in geriatrics from 2008.
ARDSI
Calcutta has been invited to conduct the Dementia care
part in
the course.
To highlight the value of memory in our life and also to
stress
on our responsibilities to preserve the power to
remember and
remember those who cannot remember, a mass awareness
campaign
was launched in 2008, which attracted a number of
celebrities,
professionals and common people. The campaign comprises
making a
solemn memory pledge and wearing a memory badge which
says
"Let's remember". The memory pledge reads:
"Memory is a precious asset in human life. But memory
cannot be taken for granted. I make solemn pledge to
preserve my
power to remember and remember those who cannot
remember."
We also sang a prayer for the entire mankind: "Give us
life
with unbroken memory and consciousness."
In the past year a number of prominent personalities,
social
organisations and corporates got involved with the
Dementia
cause. Mr Russi Mody became a patron, while Mr Sourav
Ganguly
signed the memory pledge to become a friend of ARDSI
Calcutta.
Axis Bank Eastern Zone has taken up the mission of
tackling
Dementia as one of its corporate social responsibility
programmes. The Rotary Club of Calcutta Metropolitan
East has
adopted in its portfolio of programmes the mission of
tackling
Dementia. The National Cultural Association, its
flagship Nehru
Children's Museum and its project Ankur have come
forward to
join hands with ARDSI Calcutta.
The ARDSI Calcutta family welcomed 25 new members in
2008. Best
wishes for them. Many people and organisations extended
hands of
generous help, time, voluntary service and funds, which
we
gratefully acknowledge.
Accompanied with a vision to create widespread awareness and acceptance of Dementia throughout rural and urban Eastern India via continued education and advocacy, ARDSI Calcutta continued with its ongoing activities in 2008 based on its value of :
At ARDSI Calcutta, our philosophy is focused on the unique individuality of people affected by Dementia. We consider Dementia a human experience, rather than a purely biological condition and therefore our holistic approach that recognizes and respects the individuality of those affected by dementia and their carers. And with a purpose to provide representation and support of individuals with dementia and their carers, at personal, community and political level, we observed various activities around the year.
ARDSI Calcutta conducted several Carer Training programs. One 5 days for male carer participants was conducted by ARDSI Calcutta. Two 5 days Dementia Care training at Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology with Ministry of Social Justice & empowerment, Govt. of India and the other was with ARDSI Bangalore from 18 to 20 Feb, 2008. A 2 days carer training also at Hyderabad ARDSI chapter was conducted in November, 2008. Another one year PG diploma Course in association with Calcutta University started on the 12th of December, 2008.
And one was at Mon Foundation with the Nurses Association, Medical college,
kolkata
Mon Foundation ARDSI Bangalore CMIG, kolkata
ARDSI Calcutta supported Family Carers with various educational programs. Besides 3 group meetings at Kolkata, ARDSI Calcutta was invited by ARDSI Bangalore. 
ARDSI Bangalore APOLLO Hosp. Dignity Foundation
ARDSI Teenage Association:
ARDSI Calcutta formed a teenage association educating them to raise awareness on Dementia.
Ananda Asharam Little sisters of the poor, Kolkata Old Age Home Awareness Sessions
ARDSI Calcutta visited old homes to raise awareness of Dementia among the staff.
Memory screening has been conducted at 4 community settings. A total of over 176 people screened till date.
ARDSI Calcutta started Memory clinic with the help of Dr. Amitabha Ghosh & Dr. Aparna Dutta in April, 2008
Since then, 7 clinics have been conducted and 24 patients have been diagnosed and treatment started.
ARDSI Counselling sessions & Home Visits:
A total of 112 patients provided ARDSI counselling & Home visit services.
AWARENESS PROGRAMS:
A total of 19 awareness program held at various organizational settings. ARDSI Calcutta started to raise awareness among general public in the Kolkata Marathon 3 rd of February, 2008.
ARDSI Calcutta also was represented at the Taiwan conference by ADI in June, 2008. In September the ARDSI Calcutta daycare was inaurgated and it has started functioning since November.
ARDSI Calcutta represented again at the ARDSI National conference in Bangalore and a Paper on “Non- Pharmocological approaches to dementia was presented by the Secretary of ARDSI Calcutta.
A Helpage India Project proposal submitted for Awareness & Training drive on Dementia care in November, 2008
Services provided ranged from Counseling on Behavioral management of a person with dementia to family carers, Home visits to sketch a careplan for the family, Helpline, matching professional carers for a family with a person with dementia, providing training to family carers as well as hired carers at home.
Overall the Year saw major increase in the awareness among general public and recognition of dementia. ARDSI Calcutta as a society is also known to a lot of organizations and medical community.
April ’09
9th of April– American center awareness at the Linchon Hall. Attended by 100 + participants. Doug Kelly, Director of American center & his wife Laurel Kelly along with staff & members attended the event. Dr. P K Pooviah spoke on Dementia as a disease. A memory screening was conducted by members of the society. 14 people were screened in MMSE.
18th of April – A dementia care training workshop was conducted between 10 am to 12pm at Antara , Baruipur among the care staff of the mental home. The home started a Geriatric ward where trained staff in Dementia would be a necessity. A total of 15 staff members attended the training workshop. Nilanjana Maulik conducted the workshop.
26th of April – A dementia Care training workshop was conducted between 4pm and 6pm at Institute of Physical Medicine. Nilanjana Maulik along with Dr. Prathama Chaudhury held the workshop for care staff of the institute. A total of 26 staff members attended the said workshop.
May ‘09
2nd of May – Book Donation to ARDSI Dementia Daycare by American Center. Large print books were donated by the Director of American Center. The program was attended by Dr. N N Sarangi, Nilanjana Maulik, P G Datta Ray. Both Mr. & Mrs. Kelly joined the society as “Friends of ARDSI”
5th of May – Hospital bed donation by Mrs. Amrita Ghosh in memory of her mother Ms. Archana Roy, life member of ARDSI Calcutta. The bed was donated for the purpose of use by daycare patients to rest or during doctors visit to the center.
June ‘09
Training program on Dementia Care essentials from 15th of June to 19th of June was conducted by ARDSI Calcutta funded by HelpAge India project. This 5 days training was attended by 6 participants The participants were graded for their overall performance. Training covered all aspects of the disease. The resource persons were Ms. Ranjana Mondol, Brig. S P Bhattacharya, Mrs. Nilanjana Maulik & Mr. P G Datta Ray.
22nd of June, 2009 World Music Day observed at Dementia Daycare center with persons with dementia & their carers and volunteers
25th of June, 2009 Training program with CMIG for students of Gerontology was held. A total of 13 students attended the program and was conducted by Nilanjana Maulik
27th June Awareness Program at B E Alumni Engineering College was held by Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Nilanjana Maulik & P G Datta Ray. A total of 32 participants attended the meet.
July ‘09
19th of July at Agri-Horticultural society of India, Kolkata in association with Senior’s citizens’ forum of Alipore, a dementia awareness program was held. Dr. P K Pooviah was the speaker for the day who interacted with participants on Memory loss and diet. Total of 38 participated in the event.
August ‘09
On 28th of August, an awareness session was held at Visva Bharati, Santiniketan organized by the Study circle. Total of 37 Staff, students, members, alumni and other academicians attended the meet. The 3 part program included the medical lecture by Dr. N N Sarangi, the caregiving part by Mrs. Nilanjana Maulik and the Dementia as a social challenge by Mr. P G Datta Ray.
On the 30th of August, at the B E College Ex- students Union, Salt Lake a memory screening camp was organized. Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Dr. Aparna Dutta and their team of professional conducted the screening. As many as 26 people were screened. Nilanjana Maulik & P G Datta were present on behalf of the society.
On the 31st of August an Awareness meet with Rotary metropolitan east was held a Nehru Children’s Museum. The meet was attended by 12 members of the club. Mr. P G Datta Ray delivered a 30 min lecture on Dementia Mission. The meeting was chaired by club president Rt. Dr. Shakuntala Chakraborty.
September
On the 3rd September a carer support group meet was arranged at Apollo Hospital. Speakers included Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Nilanjana Maulik & Smt. Anjalika Ray.
The meet was attended by dementia family carers & their friends. Topics included dementia the disease, importance of early diagnosis, activities for dementia persons & practical day to day survival strategies for a carer.
On the 12th September, Noted Film personality Sri Soumitra Chatterjee joined the society as a “Friend of ARDSI”. He also visited the daycare center and filmed few shots as a dementia patient for the forthcoming publicity for ARDSI conference in December.
WAD program was observed as a mark for the 21st of September, world Alzheimer’s day.
September 14
Venue: Major branches of Axis Bank in Kolkata
No. of persons: 250+
Event Details: Day-long Dementia awareness campaign among customers and clients of the bank. ARDSI Calcutta volunteers camped at the important city branches of Axis Bank, interacted with their clients and customers on dementia, its imminent progression into an epidemic proportion, early signs, prevention steps, importance for early diagnosis, available care facilities in the city, etc. Awareness brochures, specially printed on the occasion, were distributed. The Axis Bank (eastern zone) extended full cooperation to make the awareness drive a success.
September 16
Venue: Nandan auditorium
No. of participants: 225
Event Details: World Alzheimer’s Day congregation.
City Mayor & Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay signing as Friend of ARDSI
Dr. Shyamal Sen felicitated
City mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, novelist Sirshendu Mukherjee, legendary film personality Soumitra Chatterjee and other eminent personalities, doctors, care givers and persons with dementia were present. Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee, former chief justice and a patron of ARDSI Calcutta, presided over the ceremony. Dr N. N. Sarangi, president of ARDSI Calcutta, in his WAD 2009 speech highlighted the need for ‘dementia solidarity’ to meaningfully tackle the dementia menace in the society. Guest speakers appreciated the endeavour of ARDSI Calcutta in the ‘fight for memory’. Mrs Nilanjana Maulik, secretary and director (dementia services) informed the gathering on the forthcoming ARDSI conference.
Founded on September 21, 1999, ARDSI Calcutta completes its first decade on this year’s World Alzheimer’s Day. On this memorable occasion, the members of its first Executive Board were felicitated at the September 16 congregation. Film personality Soumitra Chatterjee presented uttariya and bouquet to the members who started the dementia movement in eastern India 10 years ago.
A short feature film – Asampta – centering on a person with Alzheimer’s disease, was screened.
October
On the 10th Oct, observing the World Elder’s day, CMIG Elders day program was held at CMIG. It was organized by CMIG and entrusted by the members of Senior Research Academy. A lifetime achievement award was presented to Smt. Shefali Chaudhury in the individual category for her contribution to elder care. ARDSI Calcutta was also presented with the best organization award. The award was received by Nilanjana Maulik, secretary of ARDSI Calcutta.
From the 8-16th of September a Home Care training program was conducted by Karen MCcoy, SCC Australia with ARDSI Calcutta. Karen visited homes of patients and guided them in Home care. She also spent time at Daycare and interacted with families of daycare patients. Besides, she held workshops on Homecare at CMIG & Apollo Hospital.
On the 30th of October a Dementia care seminar was organized by HelpAge India and Nilanjana Maulik was invited as resource faculty for the event.
November
Preparation for ARDSICON09 was in full swing in the month of November.
The ARDSI Dementia DayCare center celebrated one year completion.
It is my privilege to place on record our sincere thanks for the hard work of the staff and good wishes/ donations of few individuals & trusts. The start of the centre and its functioning was possible but for their support. The Centre has attained its full capacity. A few photographs of life at the Daycare Centre have also been attached.
December
Annual Conference of ARDSI on the 4/5/6th of December at Hyatt Regency Kolkata .
Registered Delegates: 230 + 50 (Registered exclusively for Caregivers Training
Session). Representatives from all chapters of ARDSI participated in the conference.
Faculty: 12 international, 3 NRI, 12 national (from outside West Bengal) and 19 national (from West Bengal)
Inauguration
The three-day conference was formally inaugurated on December 4, Friday evening at about 5 pm. Dr Prabudhha Ghosh, president, Indian Medical Association, West Bengal, was the guest-in-chief. The guests-of-honour were Dr Daisy Acosta, chairman of Alzheimer’s Disease International, Dr K Jacob Roy, national chairman of ARDSI, Dr N N Sarangi, president of ARDSI Calcutta Chapter, Dr Trishit Roy, chairman, reception committee of ARDSICON 09, and Dr T K Banerjee, secretary of ARDSICON 09. Dr Ghosh inaugurated the Conference Souvenir, Dementia Solidarity. In the line of Alzheimer’s: The Mission continues, a 
memoir of a family care giver, Brig S. P. Bhattacharjya, was released by Dr. Daisy Acosta, Mrs Shefali Chowdhury and Dr Shyamal Sen. Another book, Understanding Dementia: Disease, Treatment & Care, a collection of articles on the basic issues of dementia penned by professionals and experts, and edited by Prof Shyamal Kumar Das, was launched by Dr K Jacob Roy and Dr N N Sarangi. Dr Anshu Sen rendered the inaugural song and also presented a bouquet of Rabindra Sangeet at the end of the inaugural session.
Discourse
The Scientific Sessions and Caregiving Sessions were held in parallel, sometimes merging in between for the Combined Sessions. Some of the foremost experts from across the world have brought their ideas and opinions to this meeting and have interacted with experts from our country.The conference provided the launching platform for the 10/66 Research Group in eastern part of India.
Some unique features of the Conference
• Theme of the Conference: The central theme of the Conference was DementiaSolidarity. This was intended to engage as many people and sectors as possible with
the urgent dementia mission, keeping in mind that tackling the ensuing dementia epidemic is a responsibility of the entire society. The aim of the conference, as
manifest by the choice of the theme, was to a great extent fulfilled with the participation of scientific and medical community, professional nurses/caregivers
family care givers, corporates, personalities from the field of art and culture, administrators, and common people. And most importantly, persons with dementia
and their family members also attended the conference and interacted with other delegates.
• Solidarity Session: To highlight the central theme of the conference, a special combined session, called Solidarity Session, was held on the second evening. Quite
unique in form and content, the session was attended by national and international faculty members, delegates, persons with dementia and their family members and other people standing in solidarity with the urgent dementia social mission. The session was graced by city mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya. In the session, ARDSI Calcutta, on completion of its first decade of existence, felicitated six persons for their dedication and contribution to the dementia mission.
Those who were felicitated were Mrs Nilanjana Maulik, secretary and director (dementia services) of ARDSI Calcutta, Dr Aparna Dutt, neuro-psychologist, Dr
Amitabha Ghosh, neurologist, Dr N N Sarangi, president of ARDSI Calcutta, Dr P K Pooviah, geriatrician, and Mr S K Mitra, president, Axis Bank (Eastern India). The noted personalities who handed over the felicitation plaques included ADI chairman Dr Daisy Acosta and ARDSI National chairman Dr K Jacob Roy. The session presented a charming instrumental musical – Taal Taranga – by physically challenged and differently able students of Manovikash Kendra.
• Social Forum: With the central theme of ARDSICON 09 reading “Dementia Solidarity”, the conference aimed to engage the entire society in the mission of tackling dementia, highlighting the grave social impacts of this menacing problem and the importance of combined effort to tackle the challenge.
Learn ’n Shop & Join Global Solidarity for Mind & Memory To offer every individual an enjoyable and instructive forum to get counted in the unfurling Memory Solidarity, there was a continuous and separate session – Social Forum – at Hyatt Regency. This session ran parallel to the other two sessions on medical/scientific issues and care giving issues. To be at the Social Forum, no formal registration was required. It was open for one and all.
Forum Navigation At the Social Forum, there was the specially designed ARDSI Calcutta Stall where one got to know the essentials of dementia and the movement that has been gathering pace worldwide to tackle this menace, through flexes, leaflets, brochures and books. There was a rich exhibition of some immortal creations by the eminent artists like Jogen Chodhury, Samir Aich, Katayun Saklat and many more. A host of artists from Santiniketan Kalabhavan had also made available their creations. As many as 34 renouned artists participated in the exhibition. Even children from different schools and institutions, like Patha Bhavan, Nehru Children’s Museum and Ankur, had all assembled in the Social Forum with their paintings and drawings to stand in solidarity with the elders for Memory. More than 100 artworks were on display.The Social Forum was inaugurated on the first day of the Conference by Soumitra Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta, eminent film personalities of Bengal, along with Dr Daisy Acosta, Dr K Jacob Roy and Dr N. N. Sarangi. The art exhibition of the Social Forum was sponsored by Hyatt Regency.
The carer training sponsored by HelpAge India. The conference ended with the crucial meeting on National Dementia Strategy.
9th of December – Visit of Jodie Mcginnis & Mr. Peter Mchale, SCC Visited to review the daycenter of ARDSI calcutta, its functioning, the daycare staff, the methods, the approaches, the safety issues etc.
18th of December – Dementia Daycare Picnic was arranged. Clients and their family members along with ARDSI staff attended the event.
January
An awareness & memory screening camp on the 16th Jan was conducted at the Department of Social Welfare, Viswas Bharati & The Elmhirst institute of Community Studies, Santiniketan. A total of 123 + audience attended the events chaired by Dr. N N Sarangi, and supported by Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Dr. Aparna Dutta, Nilanjana Maulik, P G Datta Ray, Nibedita Roy, Avirup Adhikari, Pallavi Bhagav, Swapna Sucharita, Brig S P Bhattacharya who acted as resource persons for the event.
The Elmhirst institute an established NGO based in shnatiniketan and running its activities in villages in Birbhum district conducted the awareness & screening for its staff and members. A total of 35 persons screened themselves.
Dr. Kumkum Bhattacharya , HOD of Social Studies where the awareness program was held proposed to hold workshops for the students of the department in screening & caregiving.
Both the organizations showed interest in being engaged in Early Diagnosis of the rural population and take the dementia cause into the yet untouched territory of rural Bengal.
5 days Dementia Care Training (Jan 25 & 27-30) funded by HelpAge India was conducted at Ankur. A total of 13 participants attended the program. Ms. Ranjana Mondal, Mr. P G Datta Ray, Mrs. Nilanjana Maulik, Brig. S P Bhattacharya & Mrs. Diplai Pati acted as resource persons for the program.
February 2010
Sri Sunil Gavaskar joined the society as a “ Friend of ARDSI”. He was introduced to society work by Dr. N N Sarangi and briefed on Dementia.
13th Feb -Awareness program – The Theme was “To err is human, to forgive divine” at EZCC, salt lake at National Meet for Women in Public Sector. Nilanjana Maulik, Secretary of ARDSI Calcutta attended and delivered a lecture on how the theme was relevant to Dementia Caregiving. The audience comprised of Women from all over India in various public sector undertakings. The total number of audience was 567. The other noted Speakers for the session was Dr. Trishit Roy, Dr. T K Banerjee & Dr. Atanu Biswas.
15th of February –Awareness session at National Conference for Geriatrics & Gerontology at Netaji Day college – Dr. N N Sarangi on Dementia as a Epdemic.
March 2010
6th march an awareness program on Dementia with Rotary club of Calcutta Victoria at HHI. Attended by the 23 club members and guests. Vocational Award presented to Nilanjana Maulik.
18th of March
Memory screening camp at HelpAge India, Chetla Old Home. 10 people screened, 2 were suggested further assessment.
25th March a One day Dementia family carer sensitizing program at CMIG, NISD program.
54 carers- family as well as professional participated in the program. It was supported by Anjana Sen in Nursing care, Dr. Aparna Dutta with her team in Memory screening, Dr. Manas Kumar Chakraborty in Physiotherapy, Mrs. Dipali Pati in Carer Stress management and Nilanjana Maulik in Effective communication in Dementia Care.
Memory Clinics
Total of 6 Memory clinics at ARDSI Calcutta office was operated in the year April 2009-March 2010. Total number of 22 patients screened & treated by Dr. Amitabha Ghosh & Dr. Aparna Dutt.
Home Visit & counseling:
Total 87 families have approached with their different queries and request for counseling throughout the year, 43 subjects among them along with their care givers have received counseling at their residence.
Conclusion:
I would sincerely like to extend my deepest gratitude for all members of the society, the executive committee, the staff, volunteers, individuals, families with a person with dementia, persons with dementia, sponsors, donors, for enriching the meaning of our existence.
My personal 10 years nurturing the child I was handed over by Mrs. Shefali Chaudhury was truly memorable. I wish gods choicest blessings be showered upon the society’s work and promise to put very best effort in our future endeavors.
Nilanjana Maulik
Secretary, ARDSI Calcutta Chapter
