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
Link to related Madison Magazine article by Dan Smith
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.
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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. In her typical style, Winnie worked for weeks with her replacement Amy Gallagher to transfer her intimate knowledge of our operations and to be sure the transition was smooth. We wish Winnie and Dick the best as they enter the next stage of their lives.
Welcome to Amy Gallagher
We are very pleased to announce that Amy Gallagher has joined the Alzheimer’s Association as the Director of Finance and Operations.
Amy has 20 years of accounting experience and in her most recent work with Easter Seals, she quickly developed a passion for their Respite Program. She has C.P.A. certification and is a graduate of UW-Madison (B.S.) and Edgewood College (M.B.A).
Amy and her family live in Lodi. She coaches high school tennis and also enjoys her daughters’ sporting events, golfing, boating, and Badger basketball.
