Coping with Dementia Focus of Free Lecture Series Presented by UAMS Reynold Institute’s Walker Memory Center

By Ben Boulden

| June 23, 2016 | A series of free lunchtime lectures focused on coping with dementia will be held on Wednesdays through Sept. 14 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging.

Presented by the Reynolds Institute’s Walker Memory Center, each one-hour “Lunch and Learn — For Patients and Families” session will start at noon with a 20-minute lecture and followed by a 40-minute question and answer discussion.

While the lectures are targeted to caregiver concerns, dementia patients are welcome to attend these sessions with their family members. Attendees also may bring brown-bag lunches to the lectures or dine in the Generations Café before or after each event. A lecture will be presented every two weeks in Room 1180 on the ground floor of the Reynolds Institute. For more information, call 501-526-6884.

The seven sessions along with their topics and presenters are:

  • June 29 — Financial Planning for Families Facing Dementia, Beth Allen, M.S.W., licensed clinical social worker and accredited care manager, along with an invited attorney.
  • July 6 — Handling Problems with Basics: Eating, Toileting and Bathing, Sheila Robinson, R.N., Schmieding caregiver training coordinator.
  • July 20 — Understanding and Living with Other Dementias, Mark Pippenger, M.D., behavioral neurologist.
  • 3 — Overcoming Depression with Pleasurable Activities for Persons with Dementia & Their Families, Denise Compton, Ph. D., geriatric neuropsychologist.
  • 17 — Dementia and Drugs, Mark Pippenger, M.D.
  • 31 — Maximizing Brain Health through Exercise & Diet, Kellie Coleman, fitness coordinator.
  • 13 — Community Resources — Adult Day Care Centers, Home Health, CareLink, Assisted Living Facilities, Meals on Wheels and more, Beth Allen, M.S.W.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,021 students, 789 medical residents and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.