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Mario Gregorio, 62, taken on July 3, 2010, at his home in Burnaby, B.C., Mr. Gregorio lives alone, and since being diagnosed with Al;zheimer's has developed many tricks and tools to remind him of things he needs to do in his daily routine.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail

The Alzheimer Society of B.C. will reach as many as 2,000 dementia patients much earlier in the progression of the disease as a result of a $1-million grant announced Tuesday by the provincial government.

"When you get that diagnosis, it is pretty devastating, even if you have suspected it for some time," Jean Blake, the Society's chief executive officer, said Tuesday in an interview.

The new funding will mean that someone can reach out this year "and say, we cannot stop it, but here are some things to help you live a better quality of life, to enable a caregiver to understand the progression of disease and what they need to plan ahead, to make choices when they still have time," she said.

A demonstration project now in place in Victoria has shown the effectiveness of linking patients to health professionals as soon as the patients are diagnosed, Ms. Blake said. U.S. research has indicated that better understanding of the disease, coupled with more support from community services, could enable a patient with dementia to remain in the family home for an additional 585 days before turning to residential care, she said.

"This is a big jump for us," she also said. The Society's current budget is $4.4-million. However, the Society would have liked a government commitment to at least three years of funding, she added. The $1-million grant is to be used before March 31, 2011.

The funding will enable the Alzheimer Society to expand three programs - a first-response program called First Link, a fitness and social program called Minds in Motion and Shaping the Journey: Living with Dementia, which is a dementia educational series. The programs will be available in Victoria, Nanaimo, Richmond, Burnaby, Kelowna and Prince George.

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