Our History
In 1980, a small group of visionary community leaders, committed to ending the practice of leaving confused, forgetful elders alone to pace hospital halls, founded Alzheimer's Family Services Center (AFSC). Our founders welcomed a handful of elders to a parish hall to enjoy days filled with meaningful, pleasurable activities. What began three decades ago in a church as an all-volunteer effort is now a state-of-the-art, dementia-specific facility where persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or another dementia receive compassionate care, and families can access much-needed support and education. AFSC's services are designed to promote the continued dignity and personhood of individuals across the course of dementia and ensure families have access to the resources they need to provide the best possible care for loved ones.
Licensed by the California Department of Public Health, AFSC was one of the first Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Centers (ADCRC) in California and remains the only one in Orange County. As an expert in dementia care, AFSC provides caregivers, at-risk seniors and health care professionals with accurate information about memory loss. Deeply embedded within the OC community, AFSC has developed a network of partnerships to advance its mission. Notably, AFSC is affiliated with the Hoag Neurosciences Institute, and engaged in joint efforts to improve hospital and post-discharge care of patients with dementia. Similarly, for the UCI Institute of Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, AFSC provides a link to critical community-based services that families need. Through its community-wide efforts, AFSC is transforming dementia care from a "nothing can be done" to a proactive approach - one family at a time.
Celebrating Over 30 years of Service to Orange County
Alzheimer's Family Services Center (AFSC) is proud to celebrate more than 30 years of service to the Orange County community. Below are highlights of some key accomplishments during our proud history.
1980 - A small group of visionary community leaders who wanted to make life better for elders with Alzheimer's disease founded AFSC.
1985 - AFSC becomes one of the first state-designated Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Centers (ADCRC) in California and remains the only ADCRC in Orange County. Given its dementia specific capacity - in staff, programming, and facility - AFSC is able to provide care for persons from the earliest to most advanced stages of dementia, even after discharge elsewhere for difficult-to-manage behaviors such as wandering.
1999 - On July 12, 1999, AFSC relocates from a closed school setting to a state-of-the-art facility, built specifically for dementia care in partnership with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. AFSC develops the New Connections Club, leading the field of dementia care in the expansion of services to a growing population of individuals being identified with early Alzheimer's disease.
2006 - AFSC becomes affiliated with the new Hoag Neurosciences Institute.
2008 - AFSC introduces Memory Care Tools at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian to calm agitated, confused elderly patients. So successful at preventing the use of physical restraints, the Memory Care Tools were adopted as a standard of care and taken hospital-wide in 2009.
2009 - AFSC receives national recognition for JumpStart, a weekly ongoing support group for persons in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease or another dementia and their care partners.
2010 - AFSC receives national recognition for Caregiving Essentials, a free monthly 3-hour psychoeducational class geared toward informal caregivers who are caring for loved ones with dementia.
2011 - AFSC begins offering Memory Care Tools to the community as an affordably priced kit containing key easy-to-use tools that foster compassionate communication of caregivers with loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease or another dementia. Cordula Dick-Muehlke, Ph.D., Executive Director of Alzheimer's Family Services Center is appointed to the American Society on Aging's Healthcare & Aging Network Leadership Council and she receives the Dementia Care Professional of the Year Award from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
