December 24, 2008
How to connect with relatives with dementia
Sandra Kallio, Wisconsin State Journal - Mary Salzieder, Family Support Specialist with the South Central Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, talks about ways to engage a person with dementia at holiday gatherings without overwhelming them.
Link to Wisconsin State Journal story
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November 23, 2008
Mary Kay Baum: There's life after Alzheimer's
Susan Troller, The Capital Times - Activist Mary Kay Baum is battling early onset Alzheimer's disease and she feels better today than she did a couple of years ago. Baum, 61, is a former nun, Lutheran pastor, attorney, elected official and former director of the Madison-area Urban Ministry. Sunday morning she spoke at Bethel Lutheran Church about her pioneering efforts to lessen the symptoms of the disease and to bring hope to individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's...
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September 22, 2008
Annual walk to support Alzheimer's Saturday
The Capital Times - Raising awareness and money for Alzheimer's disease care and support is the goal during the annual Memory Walk this upcoming Saturday at the Warner Park Shelter, 1511 Northport Drive. The Dane County Memory Walk is one of hundreds around the country Saturday and Sunday, with registration for the local walk starting at 8 a.m. and the walk starting at 9:15 a.m. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the walk began in 1989 with nine chapters raising $149,000. The walk went national in 1993, raising $4.5 million at 167 sites, and in 2007, more than $35 million was raised during 570 walks around the country. Last year, the South Central Wisconsin chapter of the Alzheimer's Association raised more than $300,000, and to date, more than $265 million has been raised nationally during the Memory Walks. Other area Memory Walks ... include ... the Richland County walk in Richland Center (on Sunday, September 28). For more information or to register, go online at www.alz.org/scwisc.
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September 22, 2008
Memory Walk brings in $22K for Alzheimer's support group
Brian D. Bridgeford, Baraboo News Republic - Words of encouragement for families whose loved ones have become alarmingly forgetful and a call to use this year's presidential election to push for research funding to cure Alzheimer's disease were heard Saturday during the annual Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. There was a happy tumult in the air as hundreds of participants gathered for the event at the Ochsner Park picnic shelter. Participants were registering and having walk team pictures taken while members of The Jerry Stich Singers belted out Broadway show tunes.
Link to Baraboo News Republic article
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September 11, 2008
Dodgeville resident Mary Kay Baum is putting a new face on Alzheimer’s disease
The Dodgeville Chronicle - Baum is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and will serve as this year’s honorary chair for the annual Iowa County Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. Baum states, “It’s an honor to put a face on early stage Alzheimer’s disease, especially early onset Alzheimer’s. It gives me the opportunity to thank everyone who helps with Memory Walk.” Baum reflects on the changes that first caused her to be concerned about her health and the devotion of her time to several Alzheimer's-related endeavors.
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September 8, 2008
Positive steps of support: About $22,000 raised by Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Monroe
Brian Gray, The Monroe Times - They walk because someone in their family struggles with Alzheimer's. They walk because someone they work with suffers from the disease that affects more than 5 million people but still has no cure. They walk because they care. About 140 people walked in the Memory Walk Saturday in Monroe. They raised about $22,000 and the donations are still coming in, Kristin Larson, development associate of the South Central Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, said. "Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States," Larson said.
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September 6, 2008 
Disease doesn't stop woman's effort
Nathan Greenhalgh, Reedsburg Times-Press - Years later, it still makes her eyes well up with tears. "You can't put a price on that, you really can't," Anita McKnight said. That's how she described the assistance the Alzheimer's Association gave her when she was dealing with her father's progression through the disease. Anita is the Honorary Family Chair at this year's Sauk County Memory Walk in Baraboo on Saturday, September 20 in Ochsner Park.
Link to Reedsburg Times-Press article
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May 25, 2008
When Alzheimer's comes early
Melanie Conklin, Wisconsin State Journal - Since being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 58, Mary Kay Baum has been on a crusade. In this role, she's broken new ground as one of the first Alzheimer's patients in the country to sit on a local Alzheimer's board, seats usually held by care providers.
Read more about Mary Kay and how she's using photography, activism, and more to cope with dementia. Mary Kay also helped create "forMemory", a nonprofit group for those with early-onset dementia.
Dr. Sanjay Asthana, head of geriatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and associate director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, explains why it is so important to get diagnosed as early as possible.
Web link to Wisconsin State Journal story
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May 14, 2008
Plea for Alzheimer's funds
The Alzheimer's Association Public Policy Forum took place on May 12-14, 2008 in Washington, D.C. From the Alzheimer's Association South Central Wisconsin Chapter, participants were: Paul Rusk, Executive Director; Rob Gundermann, Public Policy Director; Darryl White, volunteer and advocate with early stage Alzheimer's disease and his wife Bridget; Mary Pike, volunteer and advocate whose husband suffered from Alzheimer's disease; and Liz Nickerson, speaker's bureau volunteer whose mother had Alzheimer's disease.
On the final day of this year’s Public Policy Forum, Sandra Day O’Connor and Newt Gingrich testifyed in Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing on the looming Alzheimer epidemic.
Diana Marrero, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Washington - Sandra Day O'Connor has said little publicly about the disease that has robbed her husband of his memory. On Wednesday, the former Supreme Court justice broke her silence, sharing her family's personal story with Congress in an attempt to focus its attention on Alzheimer's disease.
O'Connor is working with a group of scientists, former politicians and other public figures to boost research on the disease through a newly formed Alzheimer's Study Group.
Darryl White, 62, and his wife, Bridget, traveled to Washington from their Fitchburg home to attend the hearing and other events this week designed to promote more research on the disease. They were among the roughly 600 people who descended on Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers on the illness.
Read the entire article here:
Web link to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story
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April 3, 2008
Local winemaker looks forward to participating in the Wine and Roses Festival benefit 
NBC 15 News, Madison - Paul Rusk, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Association, and Phillipe Coquard of Wollersheim Winery, spoke to Carleen Wild about the first ever Wine and Roses Festival on April 19 in Madison.
Coquard is looking forward to event and will be offering six or seven wines to sample. He pointed out that it will be a unique opportunity for many winemakers and vineyard represenatives from across the country to introduce new products and creates an opportunity for participants to talk with the winemakers about growing grapes, how to best enjoy wine, and much more.
The Alzheimer's Association "is such a good cause," Coquard said. "We support it all the way."
Paul Rusk pointed out that 18% of baby boomers will get dementia if a cure or prevntion isn't found soon. He also stressed the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to help head off Alzheimer's disease. "Keeping active, eating, exercising are all good things to do," he said. "Of course, a little red wine never hurt anybody!"
For more information on the Wine and Roses Festival on Saturday, April 19 at Grainger Hall, please contact Miriam Boegel or Kristin Larson at 608.232.3400 or visit our Wine and Roses webpage.
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March 18, 2008
Madison community leader battles early onset Alzheimer's disease
WISC-TV, Madison - Mary Kay Baum, active Madison-area community leader and volunteer with the Alzheimer's Association, speaks about her experiences living with Alzheimer's disease and her participation in a local documentary called "The Hope of Alzheimer's, An Advocate's Journey."
The documentary is already more than a year old. Baum said she hopes that her story will help others.
"Replacing aloneness with hope is an important part of our mission," she said.
More than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's. The most common form, late on-set, occurs in people ages 60 and older. Early on-set Alzheimer's disease, occurs between age 30 and 60. In both instances, symptoms can show long before diagnosis.
Link to related Madison Magazine article by Dan Smith
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February 20, 2008
Alzheimer's Association offers Reedsburg hours
Reedsburg Times-Press - A new opportunity is available to local residents with questions about Alzheimer's disease, memory loss or dementia. The South Central Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is teaming up with the Reedsburg Area Senior Life Center to offer office hours at the center on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.
Anyone wishing to consult the Association about issues they are experiencing with memory loss, or questions they have about assisting someone who has memory loss or dementia, is welcome to make an appointment on one of those days.
There is no charge for information and services provided, and all consultations are confidential.
"We have always provided care consultation services to Sauk County residents who request them, but this is the first time we will have regular office hours in Sauk County," Carol Olson, Outreach Specialist for Sauk and Columbia counties, said.
The Alzheimer's Association is able to offer these expanded services thanks to the success of the Sauk County Memory Walk and to a three-year Healthier Wisconsin grant from the Medical College of Wisconsin that was matched by the Helen Bader Foundation.
These funding sources have made it possible to hire a full-time outreach specialist for Sauk and Columbia counties based out of a regional office in Portage. The Chapter's main office, which serves a nine county area, remains in Madison.
"We are very grateful to Reedsburg Area Senior Life Center for providing the space for the caregivers support group that meets at noon on the third Wednesday of each month, as well as our new office hours," Olson said. "Its location just north of the Reedsburg Area Medical Center is very accessible, and the staff has been very helpful."
For more information, contact Olson at 608.742.9055, 963.2688 or carol.olson@alz.org.
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February 10, 2008
Most are unaware of heart health, dementia link
Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY - Darryl White had no idea that diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors put him in line for dementia - including Alzheimer's. Now he does, but it's too late: White, a 61-year-old African-American from a suburb of Madison, Wis., was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than four years ago when he was in his late 50s and lost his job as a parole officer because of the memory loss.
A survey of more than 2,000 people nationwide, including 1,210 black Americans, shows most people don't know about the connection between cardiovascular conditions and the risk for dementia.
Richard Day Research conducted the survey in January for the Alzheimer's Association and the American Heart Association. The survey, which will be released Tuesday, found:
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One-third of black Americans reported having a diagnosis of high blood pressure; about one in five said they had high blood cholesterol.
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More than half of the African-Americans in the survey realized that such factors put them at higher risk of having a heart attack or a stroke, but just 8% realized such conditions put them at an elevated risk of dementia, a general term for brain diseases that cause confusion and memory problems. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.
"There's evidence to show that African-Americans are at greater risk of heart disease, strokes and dementia," says Emil Matarese, a spokesman for the American Stroke Association. He says blacks who know about the risk can take action early in life to ward off such diseases.
By 2030, the number of African-Americans ages 65 and older is expected to double to 6.9 million, says Jennifer Manly of the Alzheimer's Association. People ages 65 and older are at increased risk of Alzheimer's, she says.
African-Americans can't do anything about advancing age, but they can take steps to reduce their risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure or clogged arteries, Manly says. For example, a healthful, low-fat diet and regular exercise can reduce the risks.
White says he wishes he had gotten that message early on - when he still might have been able to prevent the weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure he developed in midlife.
White, who is in the early stages of the disease, has mild forgetfulness. He is still living at home, and he volunteers with the Alzheimer's Association. He has a strong family history of Alzheimer's and might have developed the disease no matter what, but he wonders whether he could have slowed down the memory loss that led to the loss of his job.
"I was unaware that I was at such high risk," he says.
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January 30, 2008
Alzheimer's Association interview: NBC15
Executive Director Paul Rusk talks to evening news anchor Carleen Wild about the Alzheimer's Association South Central Wisconsin Chapter and our upcoming programs and services, including the ABC's of Alzheimer's and Dementia program and the Meeting of Minds program for those with early stage dementia. Also highlighted is the 22nd Annual Mardi Gras fundraiser for the Association, taking place on Friday, February 1 at the Madison Concourse Hotel. Currently, about 85% of our budget goes directly to programs and services, and only 15% towards administrative costs.
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Staff announcements
April 2008
Winnie Severson retires
Long-time Alzheimer’s Association Director of Finance and Operations, Winnie Severson, retired in April after eight years with us. We are very happy that Winnie and her husband Dick will have the time to travel and enjoy their many interests, but at the same time we miss Winnie and her “can do” spirit. No matter the challenge, Winnie always had a way to make it work, and always with a smile.
Our Association is indebted to Winnie and her abilities, which kept growing as the job and our organization prospered. We wish Winnie and Dick the best as they enter the next stage of their lives.
August 2008
Welcome to Jeanne McLellan as our new Director of Finance
The South Central Wisconsin Chapter is very happy to welcome Jeanne McLellan as the Director of Finance and Operations. Jeanne has over 20 years of experience in accounting and risk management, completing her M.B.A and volunteering as a teacher with the YMCA Literacy Program and the College for Living in St. Louis. Later, as her mother succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease, Jeanne began volunteering as a bookkeeper for the Alzheimer’s Association chapter there. After 17 years of for-profit work, she found she liked the non-profit work environment and became the Business Director for The Salvation Army Harbor Light.
Now a Madison resident for nearly four years, Jeanne is married to J. and has two daughters, Cari (9) and Pamela (7), and one dog - Jeanne’s running partner, Jake. In addition to running, she likes to bike, kayak, and hike. She is a Cardinals fan, but is working on converting to Brewer-ism!
Mary Kazi joins staff to coordinate AFCSP
We are pleased to announce that Mary Kazi has joined the Alzheimer’s Association as the new AFCSP Coordinator. Mary has more than 20 years of experience as an advocate for individuals with both developmental and physical disabilities, and has served on the Wisconsin State Mental Health Access and Training Committee for the last three years. As a member of this committee, she has helped promote better access to mental health care and treatment for adults and seniors throughout the state with mental health challenges. This experience led to her interest in Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on the mental health of individuals who live and care for a family member with this disease. Her educational background includes a B.S.W., a certification in Integrated Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and a M.S. in Community Mental Health.
Mary lives with her family in Lake Mills. She likes to bike, cook, kayak, knit, read and listen to music.
Mary Salzieder becomes additional Family Support Specialist
Mary Salzieder has joined our staff as a Family Support Specialist. For the past 12 years, Mary has served the Association in a variety of volunteer positions including public speaking, education sessions and support groups. Her ties to the Association began after her mother died of Alzheimer’s disease. At that time Mary became the administrator of an assisted living campus devoted to the care of people with memory loss. Over the years she has worked in two other similar settings, all in Dane County. She spent five years as a Geriatric Care Manager and has written and presented dementia specific training for caregivers and management state wide. Mary was proud to be recognized at the 2008 Alzheimer’s State Conference as this year’s Outstanding Professional.
When she is not working, Mary spends as much time as possible biking, hiking, gardening and reading. Fall is a special time as Mary, husband Steve and their two adult children enjoy their 35th year as season ticket holders for Badger and Packer games.
