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A host of nationally recognized experts in dementia will address “New Directions in Providing Care to Patients and Their Families” during the sixth annual Dementia Conference, on Friday, February 4. The program is organized by the Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Jefferson College of Health Professions, and co-sponsored by the Farber Institute for Neurosciences of Thomas Jefferson University, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

The conference is for professionals from a range of disciplines, including physicians, nurses, occupational therapists and physical therapists, social workers and psychologists, as well as researchers in Alzheimer's disease, dementia and family caregiving. The conference is also open to dementia family caregivers and others who have an interest in these issues.

The conference’s keynote speaker, Samuel Gandy, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Farber Institute for Neurosciences, will discuss how “Clinical Trials put the Amyloid Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s to the Acid Test.”

The day-long conference will begin at 8 a.m. in the Bluemle Life Sciences Building at Thomas Jefferson University, 233 S. 10th St., Philadelphia.

The event will provide an overview of current scientific and applied research in assessment and management of dementia, with a particular emphasis on home care.

Dementia is a progressive disease that has devastating consequences for more than four million individuals and their families in the United States. While there is no cure, health professionals have a critical role in helping these individuals and their caregivers manage the disease process and support quality of life at home and in residential settings.

Rendering care to dementia patients is a round-the-clock, often thankless job and almost inevitably, the strain starts to take its toll on families. The reality is that patients with dementia do not get better and the disease continues to progress. In many cases, overwhelmed caregivers do not know where to turn or how to manage the disease at home. 

“Each year, this conference brings to the health professional community the latest in research and its application to clinical assessment and management of dementia. A particular focus is on effective approaches to helping families, the hidden patients, handle the complex behaviors associated with the disease process,”  said Laura N. Gitlin, Ph.D, director of the Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, and professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Jefferson College of Health Professions, part of Thomas Jefferson University.

The Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health has funded programs of research on best approaches to enhancing quality of life of persons with dementia and their family members. Farber Institute for Neurosciences of Thomas Jefferson University is a multidisciplinary center initially focusing its efforts on basic and clinical research in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The registration fee is $125 for professionals, $100 for members of Thomas Jefferson University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the Jefferson Health System and $25 for students and caregivers.

For more information or to register for the conference, please contact Sandy Schinfeld, MPH, at Sandy.Schinfeld@jefferson.edu or call Daphney Willingham at 215-503-1964. You can also register online at: http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/jeffcme.