Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory loss in general will likely affect someone you know. Long time locals Beth Fitzpatrick, Dave Ritt and daughter, Angie, found themselves in the classic quandary of how to care for an ailing parent in another state. This idea is a product of their experience as a family, near and far, trying to navigate these difficult situations in the most loving ways.
The idea for Papa’s Daily News came after several years of caregiving for Fitzpatrick’s father, referred to as Papa by the grandchildren. Papa suffered from short term memory loss after several strokes, but one thing was constant through it all: reading a newspaper every morning. The family created the first ever Papa’s Daily News to mimic the style of a classic newspaper, but provide the answers to questions that Papa asked every day, from the passing of his loved ones, to who in the family was getting married, to who the reigning golf champion was at the time.
The resource of having the paper, a casual, nonthreatening memory device, gave Papa a sense of independence and knowledge that had been lacking in recent years. The business was started after Papa’s passing in 2019, in hopes of giving other families the same aid they had experienced.
Reading this, you may be wondering, how does it work? Angie Ritt puts it this way: “You and your family pick the name of your specialized newspaper, provide the stories, dates, and pictures, while we put it together in classic newspaper form. You can choose the special pages, so the newspaper is specially made for your loved one. Anything from marriages, new babies in the family, medical diagnosis, obituaries, information on their favorite sport or place – almost anything you can think of. We want this newspaper to be unique to your family.”
“What makes our business unique,” she says, “is that there is no business like us. We are memory care focused rather than a generic newspaper. We work with families every step of the process.” She adds “We also encourage updates to the newspaper with reduced rates for returners, to ensure your loved one has all of the latest news.
“Although we are placed out of Nederland/Black Hawk, we work with people anywhere in the country. Everything can be collected and discussed over the phone, because you never know when your family will need extra support. But, if you are local to the Front Range, we are more than happy to meet in person to hear about your loved ones and your family!”
PDN is completely family owned, run, and operated. Beth Fitzpatrick and Dave Ritt handle the business end, and Angie Ritt puts together and formats the newspaper to client specifications. “We like to say the whole family is on the leadership team. From business operations, to marketing, to creation the whole family has input and opinions.”
“It is important to note,” Ritt adds, “that we don’t run this business just to have a business. We started this to provide the support that we needed for Papa. We love this idea and the positives it gave us as well. We hope that everyone who creates their own newspaper loves it as much as we love making it.”
Fitzpatrick loves hearing the stories from others, and loves meeting new people through the process of storytelling. Meanwhile, daughter Angie Ritt is currently a practicing social worker who loves to see the connection built with families as they create this project together.
“We see this company, and this product,” she says, “being a massive aid to families of all sorts, especially within the caregiving and aging community. We are always going to have people aging, and it is falling on the generations below to care and support like we did.”
“Unfortunately, while COVID has isolated our loved ones in nursing homes and care facilities, we thought that this would be the best time yet to get your own version of Papa’s Daily News.” However, because of the danger posed to high risk individuals, it has been harder to reach out to those who need it most because of the restrictions specific to care facilities.
“We can’t wait to hear about your families and help build a resource that your loved one can treasure for years to come.”
Papa’s Daily News is located in mid- Gilpin County. Do you have questions or are curious about the aspect overall? You can find PDN online at papasdailynews.com, email us at papasdailynews@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Papa’s Daily News.
Sponsored by Gilpin County Commissioners, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
