Cognitive care kits are now available for sign out to Prince George residents through the Prince George Public Library. This resource provides stimulating brain activities for people experiencing cognitive decline, such as memory loss and thinking skills, due to disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. The kits include games, puzzles, books, and workbooks that encourage social connection and provide meaningful links to daily activities.
Materials in the kits are designed to support the skills and abilities of people living with dementia. They encourage the use of skills the disorder has not affected, such as fine and gross motor skills, reading, spelling, and sorting. Proper use of the kits stimulates engagement and cognitive activity, and supports memory.
“As a caregiver, having meaningful connection with your loved one and seeing them engaged makes each moment and day better,” says Marcia Bertschi, Quality Improvement Advisor, Quality and Innovation. “It can bring back fun and laughter.”
There are nine kits available – each one with a variety of activities matched to abilities supporting different stages of the journey – and can be signed out using your library card. Three additional kits are available through the Alzheimer Society of BC.
The kits were developed in partnership between the Prince George Public Library, Northern Health, and the Alzheimer Society of BC, with a $6000 grant from the United Way of Northern BC. Inspired and informed by a similar project at Burlington Public Library and Halton Hills Public Library in Ontario, the kits were developed using evidenced-based concepts from Dementiability.com.
Once the library resumes in-person programming, additional training for caregivers on how to use the cognitive care kits with their loved ones will be available.
For more information, videos about the kits are available on the Prince George Public Library’s YouTube channel, or contact Ignacio Albarracin, Manager of Collections & Technology, at ialbarracin@pgpl.ca
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