Alzheimer’s disease and other brain degenerating dementias will become “the new epidemic of the 21st century,” said Dawn Adler, director of the Adult Day Center at Chai Point Senior Living.
Indeed, a recent U.S.-government-funded study, whose results were published in the journal Neurology in February, said that the number of people with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. will nearly triple by 2050 — from about 5 million now to 13.8 million.
But are people helpless to do anything to prevent getting these diseases or to fight them if they have early symptoms? Not at all, said Adler during an interview at The Chronicle office.
In fact, she said, “We now know through research that there are steps that can be taken to promote brain health and to sustain cognitive abilities.”
Adler and the staff at Chai Point have developed a program that will enable people of any age to take some of these steps.
Called “ReCharge!,” it will begin on Tuesday, June 4, and take place at Chai Point, 1400 N. Prospect Ave., in the building’s private dining room and exercise room.
And before that, Chai Point is sponsoring a kickoff and introduction event. This will take place on Friday, May 31, 4 p.m., at Chai Point’s Rubenstein Pavilion.
The featured speaker will be Piero Antuono, M.D., a renowned neurologist who works at the Medical College of Wisconsin. According to an email he sent to Adler and that she shared with The Chronicle, Antuono will discuss “the healthy brain, healthy aging, and [healthy] lifestyles.”
The ReCharge! program will involve a combination of mental exercises, physical exercises, and education about brain functions and brain health topics, said Adler.
The sessions will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adler said she herself will be teaching and leading the mental exercises, while a certified occupational therapy assistant will lead the physical exercises.
While Adler acknowledged that there is no “magic ingredient” to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s, nevertheless “mental exercise and physical exercise in a social setting” constitute “the pathway to sustaining cognitive abilities,” she said.
The informational talks will cover such topics as how memory works, nutrition for brain health, how having an optimistic attitude affects health, and many others, Adler said.
Adler, who joined the Chai Point staff this past January, said she had been working in this field for a long time. While she was working at Luther Manor, she participated in a research study and helped co-write “Illuminate: An Integrated Curriculum for Early Memory Loss Programs,” published in 2010 by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
For the past seven years, she has been teaching a program similar to ReCharge! at Luther Manor. She said people from around the state came to observe this program in action.
Among them were Chai Point director Deborah Rosenthal Zemel and Dana Rubin-Winkelman, social worker for Chai Point’s Adult Day Center.
According to Adler and Marlene Heller, director of marketing for Chai Point, the Jewish Home and Care Center, and the Sarah Chudnow Community, 12 such classes exist in Wisconsin, six of them in Milwaukee — but until now none on Milwaukee’s east side.
Zemel and Rubin-Winkelman decided that to develop one in that location “was necessary because of the clientele we serve,” said Heller. Such a program also fits with the overall approach of helping the elderly “stay independent and in their homes longer,” Heller said.
However, Adler emphasized that the ReCharge! program is not only for senior citizens. “It is never too early or too late to start a brain health program,” she said.
Cost for each ReCharge! four-hour session is $40, which includes lunch. Participants should attend regularly, Adler said, but do not have to come to both sessions every single week.
For more information about the May 31 event and the ReCharge! program, contact Adler, 414-277-8838 or dadler@jewishseniorliving.org.
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