Photo: X-ray, Mri, Ct scan / image by Dmitriy Kievskiy from Pixabay
By Shaynee Modien
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Shaunavon Standard
September 21st is World Alzheimer’s Day.
This yearly event is a global effort to raise awareness and challenge the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease can hit close to home, as many people know someone who has been diagnosed with it.
For me, this disease resonates personally, as my grandmother was diagnosed in the late 1980s and eventually passed away.
Her passing had a profound impact on me, and her decision to donate her body to science at the University of Saskatchewan was a testament to her desire to help find a cure.
One person who is integral in Saskatchewan in supporting those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is Stacie Noble-Wiebe, the First Link Coordinator at the Cypress Resource Centre of the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, based in Swift Current.
Stacie provides support not only to Swift Current but also for Shaunavon, Gull Lake, Eastend, and a large portion of southwest Saskatchewan.
She emphasizes that it takes a team to help individuals and families navigate the Alzheimer’s journey.
While the millennials have now surpassed the Boomer generation in being the largest, it is the latter Stacie says that are the most susceptible because of increasing age.
After the age of 65,the risk of Alzheimer’s doubles every five years.
Falling under the dementia category, Noble-Wiebe mentions that Alzheimer’s is the most common type with Saskatchewan having no higher rate than anywhere else in Canada.
Individual diagnoses are expected to triple by 2050, with approximately 20,000 people in Saskatchewan currently living with the disease, and an average of 10 people per day, being diagnosed.
For further information please read below:
Stacie Noble-Wiebe, First Link Coordinator, Cyress Resource Centre, cypress@alzheimer.sk.ca , 306-673-2685 (Tues, Wed, Thurs, 8:30-5)
Dementia Helpline: 1-877-949-4141,
Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm
SaskAbilities Dementia Friendly Life Enrichment Program:
Lindsay Tetrault, SaskAbilities
Dementia Friendly Life Enrichment Coordinator, 1-833-526-5299 (Toll Free)
Virtual and In-person support groups: Support Groups |
Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan
Swift Current Care Partner Support
Location: Burnham Room, First
United Church, 223 3rd Avenue NE (on the corner of 3rd & Chaplin)
Time: 2nd Thursday of the month from 1:30-3:30 pm
Upcoming Virtual Events
Learning Opportunities: Programs and Events |
Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan
(All programs are free)
September 24th Evening of
Education: Navigating Home Safety with Dementia,7:00pm – 8:30pm
Virtual Care Essentials (Zoom):Oct 7, 9, 14, 16, 2025, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
The Learning Series helps people with dementia, their families and
Virtual Minds in Motion (Zoom):
October 6 – December 8, 2025, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm