Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia

The Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia (ASNS) is the leading not-for-profit health organization working to improve the quality of life for Nova Scotians affected by Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and advance the search for the cause and cure. Since 1983, ASNS has been providing help for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and their caregivers - and that help comes in many ways. ASNS is part of the Alzheimer Society Federation (the Federation), a nation-wide federation of 11 partners made up of 10 provincial societies and the Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC).

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease. Over 560,000 Canadians currently have Alzheimer's disease, and according to experts this number will triple to 2.3 million Canadians by 2031. In our province alone, over 17,000 Nova Scotians live with the disease.

Mission Statement

ASNS is committed to alleviating the personal and social consequences of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and promoting the search for causes and cures.

Vision Statement

· Provide leadership in addressing the reality of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

· Strengthen existing programs and create new ones in response to ever increasing needs.

· Advance and develop educational opportunities.

· Participate in and promote research.

· Provide an environment that attracts and retains high quality staff and volunteers.

Our Values

Our values are "CARE: Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence." Work is in process to ensure that ASNS values underpin all aspects of our working culture, from hiring and orientation to performance evaluations to how we manage our day to day and interact with each other:

· Collaboration - We work together as one organization, and actively engage with partners to fulfill our mission and achieve our goal - that Nova Scotians receive personal and responsive services throughout their dementia journey.

· Accountability - We measure our performance and follow a process of continuous improvement. We are wholly accountable for our actions, we lead with personal accountability, and must account to our stakeholders for our use of the financial and human resources available to us.

· Respect - We set for ourselves the highest standards of honesty, trustworthiness and professional integrity in all aspects of our organization and carry out our work with the utmost respect for the dignity and the rights of the people we serve, and those we work alongside.

· Engagement - We strive to engage stakeholders in meaningful ways. To inform, listen and be attentive to those we work with - people with dementia, families, community partners, donors, volunteers and staff members.

Forget Me Not Symbol

ASNS uses the Forget Me Not flower as a symbol to represent memory loss, one of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. It is also a reminder to remember people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and their caregivers. The three flowers in the symbol represent the person with dementia, the caregiver, and the Alzheimer Society.