May 5, 2005

SIU Med School Offers Alzheimer's Disease Conference

Synchronizing Science and Support is the topic of the tenth annual conference on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias for health care professionals and family caregivers to be presented in Springfield by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The conference is offered from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 3000 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield.

The conference is sponsored by SIU's Center for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders, the Illinois Department on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association. There are 11 presenters including two from the medical school's faculty.

The keynote address, "Mapping Dementia: Developmental Tasks Along the Disease Trajectory," will be given at 8:15 a.m. by Geri Richards Hall, Ph.D., associate clinical professor at the University of Iowa College (UI) of Nursing and gerontology advanced practice nurse with the memory disorders clinic of UI's neurology department.

Sessions will follow at 10:15 a.m. devoted to the Eden Alternative and elder depression; acute psychiatric hospitalization with dementia in crisis; men, activities and Alzheimer’s; and working with your doctor. After lunch, sessions at 12:15 p.m. include strategies for care and communication techniques for various behaviors, legal issues, fall prevention and activity trends. Sessions beginning at 1:45 p.m. include updates in research, challenging behaviors, personalizing care and grief, and AD.

The closing plenary session will feature a panel discussion including individuals diagnosed with AD and members of their families. They will discuss personal reactions to receiving the diagnosis, coping with the symptoms, changes in relationships and daily living with the disease.

The registration fee is $60. A reduced conference fee is available on a limited basis for family caregivers. For more information, contact the SIU Center for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders at 217-545-7181 weekdays.

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NOTE TO MEDIA: Media interviews are best scheduled during the breaks at 10:15 a.m., 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m.