Senator Collins Attends Dedication of St. Andre Memory Care Garden in Biddeford
Click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE for high-resolution photos
Biddeford, ME — U.S. Senator Susan Collins delivered remarks at the dedication ceremony for the Memory Care Garden at St. Andre Health Care in Biddeford. The ceremony was attended by approximately 100 people, including residents and their families, the Board and staff of St. Andre, state and local representatives, Bishop Robert Deeley, Good Shepherd Sisters, and others.
“Since its founding nearly 80 years ago by the Good Shepherd Sisters, St. Andre has provided quality, compassionate, and innovative health care,” said Senator Collins. “Proverbs tells us that, ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.’ This wonderful garden helps to heal hearts, and St. Andre’s desire to serve is a tree that continues to grow.”
The 5,500-square-foot garden is expected to be used for physical exercise, therapies, and activities.
Founded in 1940 by the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec, St. Andre Health Care is a 96-bed not-for-profit facility that provides a range of care, including rehabilitation, short-term respite care, long-term nursing care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and palliative and hospice care.
As the Chairman of the Aging Committee and a founder of the Alzheimer’s Task Force in the Senate, Senator Collins is particularly focused on improving the well-being of America’s seniors.
The Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act Senator Collins authored to create a public health infrastructure to combat Alzheimer’s disease was signed into law on December 31, 2018. Earlier this year, Senator Collins joined bipartisan groups in introducing the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act, which would allow Alzheimer’s patients younger than age 60 to access support programs and services, and the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act, which would help improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to a care planning session if they are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
In 2011, Senator Collins authored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) with then-Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), which set the national goal of preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by the year 2025. Last year, Senator Collins secured an additional $425 million—the largest increase in history—for Alzheimer’s research, bringing our total investment to $2.34 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019. It builds on significant increases Senator Collins has secured in recent years, including $414 million in FY 2018, $400 million in FY 2017, and $350 million FY 2016. Senator Collins recently expressed her strong support for the $2.822 billion NIH estimates it will need in FY 2021 to find a means of reaching the national goal by 2025.
