Hospital teaches public about Alzheimer’s

Nationally recognized advocate Joanne Coste a featured lecturer

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — As part of its ongoing Community Health Series, Heywood Hospital hosted an informational seminar at the Colonial Hotel Thursday aimed at raising community awareness about Alzheimer’s disease. The event featured educational presentations from nationally known Alzheimer’s family advocate Joanne Koening Coste, attorney Dennis Yeaw, and Dr. David Gill, medical director of the Heywood Mental Health Unit. Hospital President Daniel P. Moen said he was grateful for the community support leading up to the event and hoped it would help better educate residents in the area. “I would like to express a special thank you to the Shine initiative and Fidelity Bank for their sponsorship and work on behalf of mental health,” said Mr. Moen. “Heywood Hospital is very pleased to offer events like this one as part of our Community Health Series. It is a priority of ours to provide health education events to our patients and community.” The first speaker at the event was Ms. Coste, who is currently president of the Alzheimer Consulting Association and has been featured on “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” where she was included in his list of Women to Watch in the 21st Century. Ms. Coste’s presentation was titled “Learning to Speak Alzheimer's,” and outlined how family members should handle a loved one being diagnosed with the disease. “Over the course of the past two years I have been to 47 of the 50 states to talk to people about Alzheimer’s,” said Ms. Coste. “I have found that people are hungry to find out more about the disease and they are learning so much that there is a tremendous amount of hope.” While scientific research is an important part of helping those diagnosed with the disease, Ms. Coste said a lot hinges on how the family reacts to the diagnosis. “Do we have hope for people diagnosed with this disease? Of course we do,” said Ms. Coste. “One of the most incorrect things we do is to look at the diagnosis with doom and gloom — we should embrace the brighter side of this. We get to help the ones we love.” Through her extensive work with Alzheimer’s patients, Ms. Coste passed on small things people can do for loved ones with the disease that could make life easier on them. “The biggest problem for many of these people is the feeling that with this disease, they are no longer good for anything,” said Ms. Coste. “We need to do what we can to remind them that they are still functioning human beings and they deserve everything we can do to help.” The second speaker at the event, Mr. Yeaw, focused on mental health issues and the law and said he hoped that his presentation could help residents get a better understanding of what health care assistance options are out there. “We want people to know about guardianships and health care proxies and people that can act on the patient’s behalf,” said Mr. Yeaw. “That is a very important thing for people to understand.” Although he did not speak at the event, Jon Marcinkiewicz, therapeutic leader for the hospital, said raising awareness about depression was one of the most important parts of the seminar. “We want to educate the public about all of the different types of depression,” said Mr. Marcinkiewicz. “And the different warning signs that they can look for in their friends and family.” Mr. Marcinkiewicz said major warning signs include people showing sudden changes in sleeping patterns, appetite and generally not enjoying the same activities that they used to. “We’re trying to educate the greater community by bringing all of these events together,” said Mr. Marcinkiewicz. “So we can get at a larger population of people.” Those in attendance at the event also had the opportunity to get free health screenings and browse a vendor fair sponsored by the hospital’s Geriatric Psychiatry Unit. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 9/19/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 222)