SECU Foundation Awards MemoryCare $250,000 to Expand Dementia Care in Rural Western North Carolina

SECU Foundation has awarded $250,000 to MemoryCare for the programmatic expansion of dementia care and in-home clinical and care management services in rural Western North Carolina. The expansion at its Haywood County site will provide support for an additional 130 individuals living with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments, along with 300 caregivers, on an annual basis.

This grant follows two previous awards that SECU Foundation provided to the non-profit to address the health and well-being of the people living in this 18-county region. The Foundation’s first award of $1.8 million in 2016 helped MemoryCare build a facility to address the growing demand for its services, and later assisted with a $100,000 grant to help the non-profit sustain services during the pandemic. More than 1,000 patients and 3,500 caregivers are served each year through satellite offices in Yancey and Haywood counties, in addition to its Buncombe County center in Asheville.

“We are extremely grateful for SECU Foundation’s grant to address the concerns of both the person living with dementia and their family caregivers,” said MemoryCare Founder and Medical Director Margaret A. Noel, MD. “Memory Care was founded on the tenet that having an engaged, educated caregiver is a critical social determinant of health for a person living with dementia. Families report that MemoryCare services help them better manage their loved one’s illness and their stress as a caregiver and enables them to keep their loved one safely at home longer.”

“MemoryCare’s comprehensive treatment model sets the standard for dementia care. Their family-focused work is incredibly powerful and the impact is beyond measure,” said SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell. "Our People Helping People® philosophy is well in action at MemoryCare, and we are pleased to help expand access to their important services in this rural area of the state.”