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When Barbara Auten moved to Baton Rouge from New Orleans and joined Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area (Alzheimer’s Services) part-time after Katrina, she had no idea that one day she would become the unique organization’s Executive Director. Although her grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s when she was a teenager, she had no idea that during her now 19-year tenure with Alzheimer’s Services, she would lose eight aunts, two uncles and her mother to the brutal disease.
AT A GLANCE
Top executives: Frank D. McArthur, II, Board President; Pam Mascari, Board Vice President; Barbara W. Auten, CFRE, CAP, Executive Director; Debbie Kidder Little, Development Director; Ellen Dunn. LMSW, Program Director; Treasure White, MA, PLPC, Respite Director
Phone: 225.334.7494
Address: 3772 North Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Website: alzbr.org
Alzheimer’s disease or dementia affects a staggering 10 to 11 percent of the senior population over age 65, positioning Alzheimer’s Services to serve approximately 16,800 patients and their families in its 10-parish service area—a number that diminished by more than 3,000 due to senior losses during the pandemic.
“Dementia-related diseases really are the cancer of this century,” says Auten. “In East Baton Rouge Parish alone, around 4,000 people are living with it.”
Because the disease affects far more people than patients themselves, Alzheimer’s Services supports professional and family caregivers through what is typically an eight- to 10-year journey. Families’ relationships with what Auten calls a one-stop shop typically begin with answering a helpline call or a website inquiry.
