Caring for a loved one with a progressive illness, disability, or special need can be overwhelming and life-altering. Being responsible for their care often leaves families unsure of what to do. Fortunately, Altrusa House can help adults of all ages.  Altrusa House offers medically approved programs that can benefit adults of all ages with a variety of rehabilitative needs.

• Personal Care Assistance
• Skilled Nursing and Medication Supervision
• Health Monitoring
• Support Groups for Caregivers, Family Members, & the Diagnosed Individual

• Client and Caregiver Education and Counseling
• Healthy Meals and Snacks
• Therapeutic Recreation

Altrusa House offers a Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) & Dementia Support Group. FTD is the second most common type of dementia. It includes a wide spectrum of symptoms such as behavioral changes, cognitive losses, language struggles, and movement difficulties. Doctors and researchers are invited to speak to share information and words of encouragement. Participants also share successful strategies which may be helpful to caregivers. The group leader works through The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration and one Altrusa volunteer will be present to host the group. If you are one of the many people caring for a family member or friend with FTD, Altrusa House invites you to join our FTD support group!

The FTD support group meets via Zoom the second Wednesday of each month from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. For more information, call Charlie Sperrazza at (352) 339-0571 or email Nancy Hult at altrusa.calendar@gmail.com.

We provide a full and exciting schedule of therapeutic activities and specialty programs to promote and maintain skills in key areas. Altrusa House offers an opportunity for its members to socialize in a safe environment focused on health and wellness. Altrusa House offers activities for improved cognition and exercises to strengthen motor skills. Our monthly calendar outlines the variety of exercises and entertainments designed to engage members and enhance their overall well-being.

• Group Paint Day – All members contribute their creative talents to producing a collaborative project for display at Altrusa House.
• Visual Arts – Watercolors, Acrylics, and Mixed Art Media are utilized with each member’s creativity to produce individual artwork.
• Kairo Alive – Stories, learning, and dancing transform lives. We highlight the importance of creative involvement throughout our lives and the verifiable health benefits it has on our members.
• Poetry Hour – Members select random words and then using their creativity and word choice create a poem.
• Memory Practice – Five or six words or pictures are shared with the members. The words or pictures are removed from view and members are asked to recall the words or pictures. Discussion is lively as members recall what they remember.
• Cognitive Exercises – Paper and pencil activities from Activity Connection are used. Activities include Seek & Find, Crossword Puzzles, and Junk Drawer Detective.
• Mental Gymnastics – We practice the values of listening and mental mathematics.  The more the members do, the better they get; the better they get, the more they feel successful; the more successful they feel, the more they enjoy the activity and the more confidence they feel in their own abilities.
• Fitness Programs – Grooving and moving activities focusing on cardio, weight training, and resistance bands help begin our morning activities. Members also participate in breathing and stretching exercises after lunch.
• Art for Life – Docents from the Harn Museum of Art visit Altrusa House once a month to discuss works of art and share information about the artists and museum with the members.

• The Outdoor Sensory Garden – We continue our mission of providing a stimulating and beautiful environment for our members. The sensory gardens provide a visual stimulus, a comfortable atmosphere to observe nature, and a space to study the plants, butterflies, birds, and animals that visit our beautiful gardens.
• Bingo, Cards, & More! – Our members enjoy games and social interaction. We adapt games like  Jenga Pastimes, Circle Talk, Sccattegories, and Memory Match to promote conversation and verbal interaction.
• Intergenerational Programs – The Gator Christian Homeschoolers visit Altrusa House monthly to sing, perform, and visit with our members.
• Memories in the Making – We host a series of six watercolor painting sessions. The program is an Alzheimer’s Association program that invites people with early memory decline and other conditions to enjoy expressing themselves through painting rather than speech.  
• Daily Gratitude – At the end of each day, time is set aside for our members to reflect on the thoughts and actions they are grateful for each day.
• Music Entertainment – Flute Melodies and Sweet Notes are volunteers that preform monthly or quarterly to entertain Altrusa House’s members.
• Special Events & Celebrations – The Easter Seals’ staff and members at Altrusa House celebrate with a monthly birthday luncheon. Other special events include luncheons and special activities for Valentine’s Day, July 4th Cookout, Halloween – Hoedown, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Families and caregivers are invited to join our celebrations.
• Travel Channel – This program is designed for clients to view pictures and learn facts about the wonderful places in our country and around the world. Guest speakers and Club members are scheduled to speak once a month and share photos and stories of interesting and beautiful places. Viewing is enhanced by Altrusan donated projector and speakers.