About us

The Alzheimer’s Association, Big Sioux Chapter serves 21 counties throughout metro Sioux City, northwest Iowa, northeast Nebraska, and southeast South Dakota. Established in 1987, the Big Sioux Chaper provides information and referral services, care consultation, education and training, and advocates for the estimated 10,000 to 12,000 greater Siouxland residents living with Alzheimer's disease or some other form of dementia.

In addition to our core services, the Big Sioux Chapter provides in-home respite care as well as the area's only dementia-specific adult day service. Since 1994, Senior Day Services has provided safe, supervised care in a social environment to Sioux City area residents with dementia, or ill and frail older adults.

Employment opportunities at the Big Sioux Chapter

Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease.

Financial information

The Alzheimer's Association, Big Sioux Chapter is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, donor-supported organization. Programs and services are made possible through contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. The Chapter uses 79.7 percent of funds raised for programs, services and research efforts.

Annual report

• FY07 Annual Report (PDF)
• FY06 Annual Report (PDF)
• FY05 Annual Report (PDF)

Strategic plan

The Big Sioux Chapter's most recent strategic plan was developed and approved for fiscal years 2006-2008.  It's major goals and objectives include:

1. Providing and enhancing care and support. Together, we will provide and promote quality Alzheimer’s care, support and services and empower consumers in diverse communities to access them.

• Increase the number and diversity of people the Association serves.
• Continuously improve the quality and consistency of our services and innovate in response to consumer need.
• Advocate for integrated systems of healthcare and support that are effective for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. 
• Develop and deliver evidence-based best practices on dementia care to consumers and providers.

2. Mobilizing public support.  Together, we will alert the public to the growing millions affected by Alzheimer’s disease and the importance of brain health, and mobilize them to join our movement.

• Increase recognition of the Association’s brand and public awareness of our messages
• Expand our reach to engage underserved populations and those not yet directly affected by Alzheimer’s disease. 
• Increase and broaden our educational efforts to reach the business, legal and medical communities.

3. Building unity and capacity.  Together, we will build organizational unity and capacity to achieve our mission.

• Increase annual philanthropic revenue by focusing on individual giving.
• Develop and implement a planned giving program to educate donors.
• Develop specific benchmarks and strategies for diversifying the Association’s budget.
• Develop strategies to grow the Association’s Operating Reserve.
• Ensure that the Association has qualified, comprehensive, competitively compensated staff.
• Increase and diversify the Association’s funding for care, support and services through fees for service. 
• Develop measurable benchmarks for program outcomes. 
• Find a prominent multi-functional permanent home that allows for future growth.
• Enhance memorial/tribute program to increase number of cultivated gifts.

4. Advancing research.  Together, we will accelerate progress in Alzheimer research.

• Increase federal funding from diverse sources, through advocacy and other efforts to a minimum of $1.4 billion annually.
• Increase the local awareness of research opportunities for individuals with Alzheimer’s.

Back to top

Board of Directors – Big Sioux Chapter

Officers, 2007-08

Patrick Gill, Chair
Chuck Robbins, 1st Vice-Chair
Jeanie Hohenstein, 2nd Vice-Chair
James Feauto, Secretary
Melissa Willer, Treasurer

Directors

Our history

In 1983 a small group of Sioux Cityans came together to provide support for other local families who, like themselves, had members diagnosed with what was then an almost unknown disease.  This support group provided a listening ear and an opportunity for individuals to share personal experiences and discuss financial, medical and social concerns.  In 1987, the group was granted official status as a Chapter of the national Alzheimer’s Association; the next year, the new Big Sioux Chapter was presented with the Governor's Volunteer Award for their efforts.  In-home respite care services began in 1989.

The early 1990s saw the scope and size of the Chapter growing quickly, including the first Education Conference, the first Memory Walk, the first Night of Wine and Roses, and the establishment of the area's only dementia-specific adult day service in response to local demand and the lack of any other alternative services.  Senior Day Services continues to operate today, providing over twenty thousand hours of safe, supervised care a year to Siouxland residents with cognitive or functional impairments.

Dueing the late 90s, regional branch offices in the communities of Sheldon and Carroll made it easier for the Chapter to provide support and assistance to rural Iowans.  In addition, a groundbreaking conference was convened by the Chapter in April 1998 in order to develop community-based strategies for identifying and responding to the needs of individuals with Alzheimer's who live alone.

Twenty years later, the Chapter continues to provide help and hope to thousands in its 21-county service area who are affected by Alzheimer’s and other memory loss disorders.  Support groups still operate – nearly 20 throughout the region – but they are now joined by a variety of other services and programs.  While knowledge about Alzheimer’s has grown considerably and advances in treatment help to alleviate the effects of some of its symptoms, the firsthand experiences of these individuals (and the family members who care for them) have remained largely unchanged.