Alzheimer's Association to Hold Town Hall Meeting

Please join us Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Central Illinois Chapter office, 606 W. Glen Ave., for a town hall-style meeting about the need for safety services for those with Alzheimer’s disease, children with autism, and other individuals who wander from home.

The program starts at 1 p.m. and is being held in conjunction with World Alzheimer’s Month. Area legislators and members of the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department’s search and rescue team will be among those in attendance.

Sixty percent of people with Alzheimer's disease will wander. Preparing communities for the mounting Alzheimer's crisis is one of the 10 key challenges the National Alzheimer's Plan must address, according to a nationwide survey. Chief among the topics to be discussed Thursday is the need for families to have more information on, and access to, safety tracking devices.

“The Alzheimer’s Association is committed to working with lawmakers, law enforcement and first responders to ensure they are equipped to manage the unique safety challenges of individuals with Alzheimer’s,” said Nikki Vulgaris-Rodriguez, executive director of the Central Illinois Chapter.

In the Peoria area, more than 12,500 people are living with the disease. Statewide, there are 210,000.
Experts say the number of people living with Alzheimer’s will more than triple by mid century. The stigma attached to the disease keeps many of these people and their families from purchasing or registering for safety devices.

Friday, Sept. 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day. Please help the Chapter increase awareness of the safety options available to the community and open up those doors that the stigma of the disease may have previously kept shut.

WHAT:	Town-hall style meeting on the need for families to have access to safety tracking devices, such as transmitter systems, for those who wander
WHEN:	1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012
WHERE:	Central Illinois Chapter, 606 W. Glen Ave., Peoria (Sheridan and Glen, by Davis Bros. Pizza)
WHO:	Nikki Vulgaris, executive director of the Central Illinois Chapter; Peoria County Sheriff’s Department search and rescue team; Tom Liessen, Quincy Police Department; Mike Chylewski, Care Trak Systems International

The Alzheimer's Association – Central Illinois Chapter is a donor-supported, not-for-profit health organization serving 20 counties in Illinois. For additional information or for help, please visit the website at www.alz.org/illinoiscentral or call 800.272.3900.