The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s (AFA) national Educating America Tour will visit Cleveland on Friday, September 21 for a free Alzheimer’s and caregiver educational conference.
The conference is open to family and professional caregivers, individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and the general public, and will be held at the InterContinental Cleveland Hotel, located at 9801 Carnegie Avenue, in Cleveland, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The conference is designed to connect people with information about Alzheimer’s disease, brain health, healthy aging and caregiving, as well as to give them a place to have their questions answered. Guests will hear from leading dementia and caregiving experts who will share their research, services and stories and teach attendees about dementia, practical steps on how to be a better caregiver, and improving quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Knowledge is a powerful tool. We want to equip as many people as possible with important information that will help them,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With more than 220,000 people in Ohio living with the disease, and many more serving as caregivers, we aim to help individuals understand Alzheimer’s disease and improve their quality of life through education and empowerment.”
The keynote speaker will be Dr. James Leverenz, the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and the Joseph Hahn, MD Endowed Chair of the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. Prior to his current position, he was a Professor of Neurology at the University of Washington, where he was an investigator in the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. His primary clinical and research interests are aging-associated neurological disorders, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Leverenz will provide an update on Alzheimer’s research and clinical trials, and what we can expect on the horizon.
The next session will feature a presentation by Jean Makesh, President and CEO of The Lantern, an assisted living and memory care facility, with three locations in Ohio. He will talk about disrupting Alzheimer’s and dementia care. He will talk about dementia, why it is not a normal part of aging, and what people can do to combat cognitive decline. He will provide strategies on how to facilitate healthy living and provide superior services consistent with the needs of the elderly.
There will be a panel discussion on long-term care options led by Larry Mason, President of Senior Helpers Cleveland. He will review the different types of care plans available, and their benefits, and which one is the best option for you. He will discuss how to ensure a better quality of life for your loved ones by providing dependable and affordable care.
The conference will conclude with a session on ensuring the safety of our aging parents who drive. The discussion will be led by Matt Gurwell, the Founder and CEO of Keeping Us Safe. He will provide a game plan on how to help overcome the challenges of an older driver’s safety. He will review older driver demographics, understanding the fears of an older driver and their family, vision, hearing and memory concerns, vehicle adaptations, and other precautions to take. Matt and his team have devised programs that provide senior drivers and their families with direction in helping to ensure a smooth transition from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat.
Free, confidential memory screenings will be conducted throughout the day.
For more information or to register, please visit: https://alzfdn.org/event/afa-educating-america-tour-cleveland/.
