Education luncheon series to focus on Alzheimer’s disease

ALBANY — In order to help educate the community and provide a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, Phoebe Senior Living at Morningside is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association–Georgia Chapter to host a series of luncheons this month to raise awareness on the basics of the disease and what to expect from it.

Coordinators of the series said the first session will take place on Thursday. The program for that day is “The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease,” and will provide information on detection, causes and risk factors, stages of the disease and treatment.

A week later, on Feb. 16, “Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters” will go over the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease to give its victims an opportunity to begin drug therapy, enroll in clinical studies and plan for the future — and will include an interactive workshop with video clips of people with Alzheimer’s.

The final session, “Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behavior,” will be held Feb. 23. This segment will instruct people how to decode behavioral messages, identify common behavior triggers and learn strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer’s, coordinators said.

The Alzheimer’s Association said that 5 million people are living with the disease, which is the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death. In 2016, Alzheimer’s and other dementias cost the nation $236 billion.

Family caregivers spend more than $5,000 a year caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. In 2015, more than 15 million caregivers provided an estimated 18.1 billion hours of unpaid care.

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s is increasing, with one in nine people at the age of 65 or older currently impacted by the disease. Officials say the expectation is that someone will develop Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds by the middle of the century.

All three sessions are free of charge and will be held from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. at Phoebe Senior Living, located at 1721 Beattie Road.

The community is invited to attend one or all of the sessions. Registration is requested, as lunch will be provided by Phoebe Senior Living. To register, or for more information, call (229) 483-0325 or (800) 272-3900.