During the month of September, Mercy Community Health will display an emotional and creative quilt panel crafted by individuals and organizations from across America in tribute to people with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia or their caregivers.  The arts exhibit represents a small portion of the more than 130 massive panels that make up the traveling Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) Quilt to Remember.

    The AFA Quilt to Remember is the nation’s first large-scale quilt that remembers either those who had or have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, their caregivers or healthcare professionals. Its goals include educating the public about the disease and highlighting the enormity and reality of the brain disorder in an unprecedented way.

   Mercy Community Health will display the panel to the public at Saint Mary Home (

2021 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, CT

) in its Archbishop John F. Whealon Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy on the following dates:

• Saturday, September 19 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m.)

   

• Monday, September 28   10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.*

                                                  *2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.; “Reflection on the Alzheimer Foundation of America’s Quilt to Remember,” presented by Sister Peggy Luby.

 For more information, call 860.570.8305.

 

 “Mercy Community Health is honored to be one of hundreds of locations across America exhibiting this powerful tribute to those living with the challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Christine M. Looby, director of community relations.    AFA has been loaning a limited number of the quilt panels—each of which measures four feet or eight feet square—to its member organizations in an effort to share the heartfelt collection with local communities nationwide.

    “As our members help the quilt make its way around the country, this powerful tribute will touch the heart of many more Americans and continue to pass on a message of hope to caregivers while celebrating the lives of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Eric J. Hall, AFA’s president and chief executive officer. 

    The AFA Quilt to Remember is an ongoing initiative, continuing to accept quilt panels from individuals and organizations, and taking the collection on tour across the country.

    Currently, it is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and the incidence is rising in line with the aging population. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

     For more information about the AFA Quilt to Remember, visit www.alzquilt.org or call 866-AFA-8484.

   The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in New York and made up of more than 1,200 member organizations that provide hands-on programs to meet the educational, emotional, practical and social needs of families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses. AFA’s services include a toll-free hot line, counseling, educational materials, a free caregiver magazine, and professional training. For information, call (toll-free) 866-AFA-8484 or visit www.alzfdn.org .