USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A June 29, 2019 Shifting Margins blog post by FaithUnitedAgainstAlzheimer’s member (Retired) Bishop Kenneth Carder focused on his wedding anniversary with his spouse who no longer remembers him. “How do Linda and I celebrate when she has forgotten the multiple threads binding our lives together for six decades?… Even if she no longer remembers me, I remember her! Now Linda’s love is in the form of receiving my care, affection, and devotion. Love, after all, is like a dance. Sometimes one leads; at other times, one follows.” Bishop Carder contributed two articles to UsAgainstAlzheimer’s “Dementia-friendly Worship: A Multi-faith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy and Faith Communities,” and is the author of "Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens,” which will be released in September, 2019.

DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHT

A June 25, 2019 Forbes article talked with Hued Founder Kimberly Wilson about the healthcare platform she developed to address disparities, which “diversifies the patient/doctor connection by connecting patients (of color) with health and medical professionals (of color) that specifically understand their cultural, physical and mental needs.” There are around one million doctors in the U.S., but only around 13% are black or Latino. According to Wilson, “Hued is a healthcare technology startup that allows patients to find and search reviews, and book appointments with black and Latino doctors through our web and mobile application… On the platform, you’ll be able to search based off your insurance provider, your region, and also your specialty. So, if I’m looking for a black therapist in Harlem and I have Blue Cross Blue Shield, they’ll be able to search for providers that way.”

HUMAN INTEREST

A June 25, 2019 Washington Post article spotlighted a cell phone video of a man with dementia playing the piano that went viral. Paul Harvey was a music composer and played a composition he wrote decades ago. His son, Nick, recorded the video. “Paul Harvey said he is happy his music is reaching masses of people, even at this late stage in his life, and even though he has dementia. “I am very pleased that something I’ve written has had such an effect,” he said. “It’s come so late in life, it shows that it can happen at any time.””

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

According to a June 28, 2019 Tucson article, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute is building a new multidisciplinary memory and research center in the Catalina Foothills, the Toole Family Memory Center at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Tucson, set to open next year. It will provide outpatient services related to evaluation, diagnosis and management of cognitive and non-cognitive behavior problems, and will offer access to clinical trials.

A June 27, 2019 KFGO article reported that people with an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis in Minnesota will be eligible for medical cannabis. There are close to 100,000 people diagnosed with AD in Minnesota. Cannabis has been shown to be beneficial for people with dementia.