PORT LUDLOW — After her husband died five years ago, Peggy Schafran set out on a crusade.
Her opening salvo: a forum on health care options for her neighbors in the Port Ludlow resort community north of the Hood Canal Bridge.
She followed it with educational forums by nationally known surgeons on prevention and treatment of heart disease and stroke.
All three forums drew capacity crowds, with people coming from all over the Olympic Peninsula.
Now Schafran is taking on a different foe, one she wants to be prepared to face.
“Now that I’m older, I’m starting to forget things,” Schafran said.
“I want to recognize the symptoms so that I can lessen the outcome.”
Schafran, 73, said it bothers her when she can’t recall the name of a friend or neighbor in Port Ludlow, where she has lived for more than three decades.
What she wants her and her neighbors to be aware of — symptoms of dementia and the medications available to treat its different forms.
“A lot of people don’t know that there are all types of dementia,” she said, “Alzheimer’s being just one of them.”
That concern prompted her to drive to Kingston last fall to hear Gail Bosch, a certified geriatric pharmacist, speak on the subject.
Bosch, the consultant pharmacist for Hospice of Kitsap County, conducted reviews of more than 400 patients in dementia drug studies as consultant pharmacist for the University of Michigan’s Disease Research Center.
The place was packed for Bosch’s presentation on recognizing and treating dementia, even though it started at 8 a.m.
So Schafran booked Bosch to speak in Port Ludlow on Saturday.
In retirement communities like Port Ludlow, Schafran said, there are people who have spouses or elderly parents exhibiting signs of dementia and don’t know where to turn.
At Saturday’s forum, Bosch will provide copies of her presentation for people to refer to and make notes on, as well as additional resource material from a variety of sources.
Schafran’s crusade has brought health care issues to the fore of this largely retirement community that revolves around sailing and golf.
The Port Ludlow Computer Club has set up a Community Health Care Resource Guide at www.portludlowtoday.com to help residents deal with health care issues in a rural setting, and is offering a demonstration at the Port Ludlow Bay Club at 6 p.m. Monday.
The Community Enrichment Alliance has invited Mark Harvey, director of the Clallam/Jefferson Senior Information and Assistance Program, to address similar concerns at the Port Ludlow Beach Club at 1 p.m. April 21.
“Dementia recognition and treatment” will be presented at the Port Ludlow Bay Club, 120 Spinaker Place, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Admission is free for club members and nonmembers will pay a $1 use fee.
To reserve a seat, phone Schafran at 360-437-9935 if calling from East Jefferson County, or 360-417-8554 if phoning from Clallam County.
________
Port Townsend/Jefferson County Reporter-Columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at 360-379-5688 or jjackson@olypen.com.
