June 24, 2019

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A June 21, 2019 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s blog post is pleased to announce the release of “Dementia-Friendly Worship: A Multifaith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy and Faith Communities.” This first-of-its-kind, UsA2-endorsed book seeks to enable congregations and faith communities to welcome and serve those living with dementia, along with their caregivers and families. According to the post, “Faith communities in particular have a unique opportunity to lead by example through good works that ensure every person living with Alzheimer’s, another dementia or cognitive impairment is treated with dignity and cared for compassionately.” The many esteemed contributors include Clergy Network & Faith Coalition members pastor Rev. Dr. Cynthia Huling-Hummel, author and journalist Greg O’Brien, and LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate Daisy Duarte. Senior editor Lynda Everman is a UsA2 Advocate.

MUST READS

A June 21, 2019 The New York Times article by author and actor KateNeuman writes through the lens of slowing losing her own mom to Alzheimer’s disease. According to Neuman, “…In that moment, I realized that her Alzheimer’s, in laying wreck to so much, had rendered unavoidably visible the problem I’d always had: that when I’d looked to her to see myself, I hadn’t, and that, like the vampire I felt myself to be, I had no reflection of my own. Just then, my mother smiled at me from the other side of the table, her beauty undimmed, at least to me; her smile warming me, as it always has, no matter what… It’s been eight years since my mother forgot me, and she’s almost gone now… Since that day, and as I lose her more and more, as she has moved farther into the awful oblivion she can’t escape, the voice in my head that compares myself to her has quieted. I’m lonely without it, it turns out, but I’m also finding, finally, my own way to live.”

DEMENTIA AND THE ARTS

A June 23, 2019 The Washington Post article spotlighted the winners of the “Still Living” photography contest for people with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, organized by the Bob and Diane Fund. According to the article, “The idea for this new contest originated from a conversation Martin had with Geri Taylor, a friend who was diagnosed with dementia in 2012. “We present ourselves to the world with our speech, and if we have difficulties speaking and fumble easily, that’s not a pretty picture,” Taylor said. “But the ability to create beauty through the camera, to tell a story through the camera, is a means of communication and of presenting ourselves as people.””

HUMAN INTEREST

A June 21, 2019 The Palm Beach Post article spotlighted the “Something I Will Never Forget” long-distance paddle, raising funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease with a 248 mile paddle from St. Augustine to Palm Beach. Founder Barbara Golden’s mother had Alzheimer’s disease and she wanted to create something positive for people experiencing AD to work through their pain together, while preventing the onset of their own dementia. According to the article, “They know how to have fun, Golden said, and the point is, after all, to enjoy life: to keep their bodies in shape, their minds sharp, to stave off Alzheimers and the effects of dementia for as long as possible. “I don’t want my children to experience this,” Golden said. “I want my children to know how to deal with it, emotionally and physically.”"

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

(ICYMI) A June 14, 2019 The Sacramento Bee article looked at the greying of California’s population and the implications. By 2030, the population over age 60 will be 40 percent larger than it is now, mirroring worldwide trends projecting 2 billion people over age 60 by 2050. California will face healthcare workforce shortages, and a fragmented system of services. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the creation of a “Master Plan for Aging” to serve as a blueprint promoting healthy aging and to prepare the state. According to the article, “Researchers said lack of equity in care coverage between urban and rural regions is a theme throughout all areas of health care. They said the key conversation should be about how rural counties – places where the population is often lower-income and more people are in poor health – are underserved.”