How to deal with a tsunami of dementia
On the strategic process that EMDA Association went through this year
Israel faces a huge challenge: over 150,000 families care for a person with dementia (including Alzheimer's), with thousands more added to this circle each year. The wave of dementia sweeping the world is a veritable tsunami – a difficult reality in which families deal with an unbearable emotional, financial, and physical burden.
In 2025, we at EMDA realized that despite everything we do – 70 support groups across the country and on Zoom, a Facebook group with over 10,000 members, the 8889* telephone support and counseling center, digital courses and guides, and a wide range of other solutions – we need to do much more. As an organization, we currently support thousands of families, but that’s not enough. We decided that we must grow and support more families dealing with dementia.
We formed a strategic leadership team (chairwoman, CEO, national support group manager, and strategic advisor), and embarked on a process of inquiry and listening , during which we interviewed the organization's staff, family members, volunteers, and donors. Next, we learned how leading organizations in the world operate, conducted several in-depth surveys, and held a fascinating vision workshop attended by over 20 leaders in the organization, volunteers, and family members.
During the process, we formulated a clear vision, mission, and goals, which were refined following feedback we conducted among family members, caregivers, and team members alike:
vision
Optimal, supportive, and respectful care for families dealing with dementia – While doubling the number of families and caregivers supported and alleviating their reported distress by about half, by 2028, and on the way to a world without dementia.
task
Amda will increase the circles of practical guidance and emotional support for patients and family caregivers.
By streamlining and leveraging useful information, support processes, and collaborations; establishing a multidisciplinary virtual support center that puts the patient and their caregivers at the center; and promoting palliative and curative treatments in the future.
To realize the vision and mission, and meet the goals, we developed a comprehensive strategic plan, organizational (making it easier for family caregivers) and marketing (how we will reach as many families with dementia as possible). Within this framework, we formulated three guiding principles of action: Focus, efficiency, and leverage.
- Postal Code: Focusing resources on activities that create the highest value for families with dementia and Alzheimer's, while setting clear priorities. Instead of being scattered, we will focus in the coming years on those who need us most – family caregivers, and give them tools for resilience, coping, and good care for their loved ones.
- Streamlining: Improving the work processes in the association, in order to produce more impact (benefit for families with dementia) with existing resources. For example, developing effective tools and materials for practical guidance, in order to free up staff time to provide more emotional support and expand support groups.
- Leverage: Using existing successes to expand the activity, and to recruit more donors and volunteers. The more focused and efficient we become, the more families with dementia we will support, and the more our impact grows, the more donors and volunteers will be recruited to help us create more successes.
Accordingly, we have also formulated Marketing strategy The specifier how We will reach as many family caregivers as possible, and engage as many volunteers, donors, and supporting organizations with whom we will collaborate. The move is intended to sharpen EMDA's messages, strengthen its public visibility, and make services accessible to tens of thousands of additional families.
The main message that was formulated is that EMDA provides relief to family caregivers, and is the first body to assist families in Israel in coping with dementia. Accordingly, our new slogan is: Amda Association – The Address for Families with Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
In the last quarter, we began examining the work processes in the organization, especially those related to family caregivers (in accordance with the strategic focus), and streamlining them. In the first stage, we characterized the family caregivers: Most women, spouses or daughters of a person with dementia, who come to us as their loved ones Starting to need supervisionLater we started to adapt the Marketing language (which should be feminine, emotional and simple – in light of the existing mental burden) and make concise information accessible that provides practical guidance (for example – 101 ideas for home activities, and guide For foreign workers during wartime – in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic).
In addition, we improved the public relations process and published 12 articles in the national press; branded and optimized our posts and ads on social networks; developed a new website skeleton that will be implemented in the coming months; began a process of segmenting customers and providing a customized response based on location, native language, stage of the disease, and more; began promoting all of our solutions with the help of Google Nonprofits budget and sponsored campaigns on Facebook; built an attractive benefits package for association members; and more. Similarly, we began testing, measuring, and improving operational processes in order to become more efficient and provide more impact.
This is a process of constant improvement , which is already beginning to bear fruit. The ultimate goal we have set for ourselves is that every family in Israel dealing with dementia will know that they have an address – and will receive support from us. We are here to ease the loneliness, the burden and the confusion – with knowledge, connection, support and empowerment.
And until the day comes when a cure for dementia is found – we will continue to be here, a living and breathing address for every family in Israel facing this challenge. Because we are here for you – today, tomorrow, and until we reach a world without dementia.
Ari Manor is the CEO of the consulting firm ZOOZ, Strategy and Marketing Manager atEMDA Association וExpert in strategy, marketing, AI and innovation. Has a master's degree (M.Sc) in human genetics, as part of the Interdisciplinary Excellence Track at Tel Aviv University.. As a serial entrepreneur, Ari has founded a number of impact projects for the benefit of the public, including Social psychometric in Israel, and the CureFacts project, which makes scientific information about medical treatments accessible to the general public in the US.
I think that if you collect the various difficulties at the various stages and list possible solutions from the accumulated experience, it will be very beneficial for the family members who are caring for them.
Thank you, Naomi.
The idea of gathering coping solutions according to the different stages of the disease is important. Thank you for that.
there is Different types of difficulties experienced by family caregivers, and we try to research them and provide solutions to most of them:
Conduct and exercise of rights with authorities and institutions: Mirror Series of posts here
Tips for caregivers and responding to behavioral problems: Mirror Amda's closed Facebook group
Mental and emotional coping: We provide emotional support in 70 Support groups across the country And bזום.
Medical aspects and treatments: We prefer to refer to specialist doctors, and only provide initial information on the site.
The EMDA website contains many additional sources of supplementary information, including:
The basket of solutions Emda's
Who (else) can help?
Tips for caregivers On EMDA's blog
The Complete Guide to Alzheimer's
Additionally, you can receive a telephone response from the Dementia Information and Counseling Center – 8889*.
And these days we are collaborating with Klalit, to build Dedicated intelligence to support family caregivers.
As the article makes clear, our role is to provide practical guidance and emotional relief to caring family members.
Therefore, we will continue to research and develop solutions for you as long as the dementia epidemic continues.