A national nonprofit is bringing a workshop to Albuquerque on Wednesday geared towards helping people with Alzheimer鈥檚 and their caregivers with information and resources.
The Alzheimer鈥檚 Foundation of America was founded over 20 years ago by a man whose mother lived with the disease for years. He felt like he was all on his own, said Chris Schneider, spokesperson for the group.
鈥淭here weren't help lines, there were no support groups, there weren't programs, there weren't educational events, and he never wanted any other family to feel that way,鈥� Schneider said.
So he started the foundation to provide support services and education. Schneider said today there are close to 7 million people living with Alzheimer鈥檚 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that number will double by 2060. New Mexico has 46,000 people with the disease.
The Wednesday workshop will feature an overview by Dr. Gary A. Rosenberg from the University of New Mexico鈥檚 . Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the Antoinette Vigil will discuss long-term care programs in the state.
There will also be sessions on safeguarding your home when a loved one has dementia and strategies for managing aggressive behavior in dementia patients. The foundation will also offer memory screening. That won鈥檛 diagnose a particular condition, but Schneider said it鈥檚 an important early detection tool for uncovering a potential memory problem.
"One of the really important things to know about is that not all memory problems are caused by Alzheimer's,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are another a number of different other conditions -- vitamin deficiencies, thyroid disorders, sleep apnea, depression, urinary tract infections -- all of these can cause memory impairments. They're also all treatable, if not curable, but if you don't get checked out, you're not going to know.鈥�
There鈥檚 no cost to attend the conference, . It takes place at the Sheraton Uptown Hotel, 2600 Louisiana Blvd. NE.
