Free Alzheimer's virtual educational conference set for Tuesday, Sept. 29

Press release

NEW YORK — The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America will host a free virtual educational conference Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mountain Time as part of its national Educating America Tour to help Montana residents affected by Alzheimer’s disease during the COVID-19 crisis .

The conference, which is free and open to everyone, will provide information and advice from health and caregiving experts. To register, people can go to http://www.alzfdn.org/tour .  

“Knowledge is a useful and powerful tool that can help make any situation easier to navigate. That’s especially true now as more than 22,000 Montana families are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s president abd CEO. “We want individuals who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s to know about the resources available to help them and steps that they can take to improve their loved one’s care and quality of life. This conference will bring that information directly to families without having to leave their homes.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” will be a guest speaker and share his family’s personal Alzheimer’s story regarding the diagnosis of his mother, Suna Oz, last year. Oz will describe how the diagnosis impacted his family, as well as share tips to promote good brain health and healthy aging.

Sessions during the AFA virtual conference will include:

• Alzheimer’s Disease Mechanisms: Identifying Druggable Targets — Deborah E. Cabin, Ph.D., will review some of the advances in Alzheimer’s research, including her own research into how lowering the amount of tau protein may lead to slowing or halting disease progression. Dr. Cabin is an Associate Professor and Assistant Director of the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls, MT.

• COVID-19: Consideration for Older Adults — Christopher Taylor, Ph.D. an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging Program, will talk about COVID-19 and offer tips and strategies to help keep older adults, including those with cognitive decline, safe and healthy during this difficult time. 

• My Story and Lessons Learned — Family caregiver, author and speaker Leah Stanley will share her personal experiences about becoming a caregiver for her grandparents at age 29. She will discuss the lessons she learned and provide guidance and strategies to help other caregivers.

For more information or to register, people can go to http://www.alzfdn.org/tour . People who can’t participate in the virtual conference or have immediate questions about Alzheimer’s disease can connect with licensed social workers seven days a week through AFA’s National Toll-Free Helpline at 866-232-8484 or via online web chat system — available in 90-plus languages — at http://www.alzfdn.org, by clicking the blue and white chat icon in the right hand corner of the page. 

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support, services and education to individuals, families and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias nationwide and to fund research for better treatment and a cure. Its services include a National Toll-Free Helpline at 866-232-8484 staffed by licensed social workers, the National Memory Screening Program, educational conferences and materials, and “AFA Partners in Care” dementia care training for health care professionals. For more information about AFA, call 866-232-8484, visit http://www.alzfdn.org, follow AFA on Twitter or connect with AFA on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. AFA has earned Charity Navigator’s top four-star rating for six consecutive years.