Free dementia workshops to be held at Houston's Alzheimer's Association

Since December 2003, Marsene Boldt, RN, has been providing care services for Houston area residents with her At Your Side Home Care location at 16868 Royal Crest Dr. On Tuesday, March 17, Boldt will be continuing her efforts to improve the quality of life for seniors by hosting two free dementia workshops at Houston's Alzheimer's Association located at 16055 South Loop E. From 9 AM to 12 PM, Boldt will host a dementia workshop for helping professionals and from 6 PM to 7:30 PM Boldt will be targeting family caregivers. Attendees may meet with workshop sponsors during registration which runs from 8 AM to 9 AM for the professional caregiver workshop and 5 PM to 6 PM for families respectively. Attendees may register at http://www.dementiawise.com/.

Hosted by Dr. Deborah Bier, Director of Special Populations for ComForCare Health Care Holdings, Inc., the workshops continue At Your Side's DementiaWise program which assists those impacted by dementia. Bier's keynotes, "Game-Changing Approaches to Dementia Care for Helping Professionals" and "Game-Changing Approaches to Dementia Care for Family Caregivers," will educate attendees about dementia and how to manage its effects.

"Much of the struggle in dealing with dementia is born from a failure to understand what dementia truly is," said Bier. "Ignorance prevents helping professionals and family caregivers from providing the kind of support those with dementia truly need. With DementiaWise, we impress upon helping professionals and caregivers the need to recognize and handle the challenges dementia can present."

The March 17 DementiaWise seminar comes on the heels of an increased nationwide focus on dementia and best practices for those with cognitive decline, spurred by the movie "Still Alice" which has earned star Julianne Moore acclaim.