Alzheimer’s Community Care Provides
Needed Support For Patients And Caregivers Story by Deborah Welky • Photos by Abner Pedraza
Palm Beach Gardens resident Donald Baxter was working in the world of finance and helping his aging uncle, C. Kenneth Baxter, manage his fortune when the elder Baxter was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Unsure of what to expect both personally and financially for his uncle, the younger Baxter reached out to Mary Barnes. He wanted to know what to expect so he could best help his uncle. Barnes, now president and CEO of Alzheimer’s Community Care, was working for another Alzheimer’s agency at the time. She knew that for every one person who is diagnosed with the disease, 19 others are affected, whether they are family members, friends, police officers, letter carriers, grocery workers or members of the medical community. Barnes did tell Baxter that Alzheimer’s disease was just starting to 84
november 2015 | wellington the magazine
get noticed. “What is your most urgent need?” he asked. The City of Pahokee, which offered day care for Alzheimer’s patients, was in dire need of help at the time. “I didn’t have the numbers in front of me, nor pen and paper, so I just told him that I figured it would most likely take $50,000 to get a branch started in Pahokee,” said Barnes, who was leaving on vacation the next day.
Baxter told her to call him back at 4 p.m. on the day she returned. When she called, Baxter informed her that he had decided to donate $80,000. “He said, ‘You’re going to want to do it right,’” Barnes remembered. “He gave us $80,000 a year for each of the first three years. It helped us do so many things. The Baxter family believes that when you like a charity, you make a donation large enough to make an impact on that charity’s organization.” As Kenneth Baxter’s disease progressed, and family members in both Philadelphia and Palm Beach became increasingly concerned, Donald Baxter finally asked the tough question: How would they know the critical time was near? Barnes didn’t