The Wisconsin Dementia Resource Network (WDRN) is a collaboration of statewide partners convened by the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute to discover and share innovative best practices, resources, and information to help support people living with dementia and their families.
Many areas of Wisconsin have developed promising practices to enhance their dementia-friendly communities and help build dementia capable organizations in their community, however, these are not necessarily being shared widely around the state. Through the WDRN, WAI helps spread the word about programs, resources, services, and ideas that may be replicated in communities around the state.
WDRN’s guiding vision is:
“People living with dementia and those who care about them will feel respected, understood, welcomed, supported, and engaged in Wisconsin communities.”
WDRN Goals
The ultimate goals of the WDRN is to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and increase access to dementia-capable services, leading to earlier diagnosis and better quality of life for people with dementia. This will be accomplished by:
- Increasing the number of dementia-friendly communities in Wisconsin
- Increasing the number and variety of programs that communities offer to help individuals with dementia and their families.
- Increasing the number of dementia-capable organizations, particularly healthcare organizations, in Wisconsin.
- Increasing the linkages between dementia-friendly communities and dementia-capable organizations, particularly healthcare organizations.
WDRN Activities
In-Person and Web-Based Meetings: The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute serves as the convener and backbone organization for the WDRN. This involves hosting two in-person and four phone-based meetings each year to highlight dementia best practices taking place in Wisconsin communities. Each meeting is focused around a specific theme related to building or enhancing dementia friendly communities, and each includes a panel of experts related to the selected topic. We strive to make the meetings as interactive as possible, so that participants can share their experiences regarding the topic at hand. View past WDRN webcasts.
If you would like to be added to an email list to be informed of upcoming WDRN meetings and webcasts, please contact Jody Krainer.