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When a person wanders from home, the first call goes to 911. First responders and emergency personnel are dispatched by police and fire agencies to find the person who wandered and return them to the safety of their home.

As anyone who has known or provided care for a person with dementia knows, the behaviors and communication issues which accompany the disease can be challenging. The Alzheimer’s Association is working with police, fire and other emergency responders to provide training and strategy.

Pictured above are Michael Massurin, the Chapter’s Central Regional Director, and Town of Dewitt Chief of Police Eugene J. Conway. The town sponsored a series of trainings for law enforcement, which were conducted by Massurin. The Dewitt, Baldwinsville and North Syracuse police departments were represented as were the Onondaga County Park Rangers.

If you are a first responder and believe your agency could benefit from our dementia training, contact us today.

In 1988, we moved into our building here at 441 West Kirkpatrick Street. A gift from Donald Moore, the building provided a home for both our Alzheimer’s day program and the chapter’s support services. More than 20 years later, the Chapter is running strong. The day program welcomes between 20-25 people each day, while the office staff has grown to meet the needs of the community.

We outlined the renovation of the day program’s kitchen this past August. Last evening marked its official unveiling. An invitation-only party welcomed day program families past and present, and local supporters to see the fruits of our labor. Pictured above (from left) are Chapter CEO Cathy James, Chapter Board President Larry Malfitano and Connie Foote, from The Carriage House Foundation. The trio cut the ribbon and officially opened the kitchen.

If you weren’t there, we invite you to watch Cathy’s remarks and the ribbon cutting on YouTube!

We’ve had a location change on our Skaneateles support group. Please make a note of the following:

Peregrine Home Care Services
1551 East Genesee St.
1st Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Chapter Staff: (315) 472-4201

Last year, we packed ballrooms in Utica and Johnson City for our first A Night to Remember events. It seemed that everyone who attended stopped to tell us that they would be back next year. Today’s the day to get your calendars ready and make plans to join us for 2010.

A Night to Remember returns for the new year in new locations. Join us in the Mohawk Valley on April 9, from 7-10 p.m., at Valentino’s Banquet Hall in New Hartford. In the Southern Tier, join us from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on April 29 at The Binghamton Regency.

This is the second annual event in both areas. A Night to Remember is aimed at pampering local women, who sacrifice spending time on themselves as they juggle busy personal, family and professional lives. It features local therapists and aestheticians providing massages, manicures and other services. Businesses, including jewelers, artisans and clothing shops, will display their products to the more than 250 people expected to attend. A new VIP ticket level offers exclusive benefits, which are outlined at our website. In the Mohawk Valley, the event is presented by Brookdale Senior Living Clare Bridge Clinton and Villas Sherman Brook. Susquehanna Nursing and Rehabilitation Center presents the Southern Tier edition.

General admission tickets for both events are $50 and VIP tickets are $75. A Night to Remember tickets can be purchased online or over the phone. Call (315) 617-4025 x117 in the Mohawk Valley or (607) 785-7852 x106 in the Southern Tier.

Mohawk Valley Regional Director Julie Darling spoke with Channel 2 today about our own “holiday rush” — families calling our 24-hour Helpline after spending time with their families during a holiday.

Watch it online at NewsChannel2’s website.

Thanksgiving arrives on Thursday and we have some changes on tap to our schedules:

1. All Chapter offices will be closed Thursday for the holiday. Our offices will reopen on Friday.
2. Our 24-hour Helpline WILL BE OPEN to answer questions which may come up during the holiday.
3. The Kirkpatrick Day Program in Syracuse will be closed on Thursday and Friday for a long weekend. The participants and staff return on Monday, November 30.

The Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter wishes you a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Launched today, the Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone™, powered by Omnilink, is the first comprehensive location management system designed specifically for Alzheimer’s, giving people with the disease more freedom and independence in their community while providing their family some peace of mind. Comfort Zone is a Web-based application that works with various location devices throughout the progression of the disease to proactively communicate the location of the person with Alzheimer’s within two to 30 minutes, based on the family’s selected plan. Comfort Zone also offers families assistance with 24/7 monitoring center services and access to emergency health records from the MedicAlert Foundation.

“We are particularly excited about Comfort Zone because for the first time, we have technological device that is reliable and easy to use,” Catherine James, Alzheimer’s Association, Chief Executive Officer, said. “Comfort Zone is another level of safety that caregivers can use at home to keep an individual out of a facility and in a familiar and safe environment.”

As Americans continue to live longer, prevalence of Alzheimer’s is expected to skyrocket in state from the current number to as many as number by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures report. In addition to its slow, fatal progression, Alzheimer’s poses immediate safety concerns for people living with the disease and enormous challenges and stress for their 10 million family caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter estimates that there are more than 45,200 people in our region living with Alzheimer’s.

“As the Alzheimer’s epidemic gains momentum, the Alzheimer’s Association is committed to educating families about how to keep people with Alzheimer’s successfully in the community for as long as possible,” said Beth Kallmyer, MSW, director of Family & Information Services at the Alzheimer’s Association. “Comfort Zone is an interactive safety service that allows people with the disease to be more active and caregivers be more confident whether they are in the same house, down the street, at work or across the country.”

Comfort Zone combines the latest technology with flexibility, allowing families to change devices and plans as a person’s disease progresses and monitoring needs change. Using GPS and cellular technologies with online mapping, Comfort Zone allows the entire family to proactively determine the location of the person with Alzheimer’s. Families log into a secure, password-protected Web site similar to logging into most email systems and proactively establish safety zones. If the person with Alzheimer’s travels beyond the pre-set zones, they receive alerts via text or e-mail within 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the device and service package purchased. These zones and alerts can be adjusted to meet the family’s needs as the disease progresses. Additionally, families can determine location within two minutes by initiating a “Find Me” or a longer “Follow Me” session, which provides updates every two minutes for one hour.

“Omnilink is pleased to partner with the Alzheimer’s Association and power the Comfort Zone application,” said Wain Kellum, CEO of Omnilink. “This is a great opportunity to use our advanced location-based services platform to give families flexible care options and choices throughout the progression of the disease.”

The price of the Comfort Zone service packages varies, beginning at $42.99 a month with a $45.00 activation fee, similar to most cell phone services. For more information or to purchase Comfort Zone, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/comfortzone or call 1-877-ALZ-4850 (1-877-259-4850).

It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in last with our Memory Walk totals. We are pleased to report that we have topped the $328,000 mark as of Tuesday. This is the best Memory Walk season the Central New York Chapter has ever had and the third consecutive year that we’ve broken our own fundraising record. Each individual walk smashed its own records

Mohawk Valley: $43,500
St. Lawrence: $33,300
Jefferson-Lewis: $57,300
Southern Tier: $72,750
Greater Syracuse: $121,500

The hard work of our committees and walkers continues to pay off. We plan to close our online fundraising sites on October 30 at 3 p.m., so get any last minute funds posted so that they will be counted!

The Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter is the newest beneficiary of the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association’s Charity Preview. This annual event is one of the area’s most exclusive events, raising thousands of dollars for local non-profit organizations. The preview brings together fine food and great music with a sneak peak of the Syracuse Auto Expo.

The 2010 Charity Preview takes place from 6:30-1o p.m. on February 10, 2009 at the OnCenter Complex in Syracuse.

Tickets are on sale NOW! You can purchase individual tickets or corporate ticket packages from the Chapter.The easiest way is to download the special order form and submit it directly to SADA (Remember to select the Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter as the benefiting charity!). If you would like the form mailed or faxed to you, contact Toni Ann Daley, chief development officer, at our Chapter Office. She can be reached by phone (315-472-4201 or 800-272-3900 x109) or e-mail.

AND, make sure to visit our special Charity Preview page at alzcny.org!

Just because walk is over does not mean the money stops coming in. Between matching gifts, mail-in donations and visitors to our website, we continue to raise funds for each and every walk.

Through Noon on Saturday, here is where we stand for each walk:

• Mohawk Valley: $42,940
• St. Lawrence: $33,117
• Jeff-Lewis: $54,512
• Southern Tier: $69,82
• Greater Syracuse: $117,330

All said and done, the Central New York Chapter had its most successful Memory Walk season ever — $317,720.

We will keep updating you over the next couple of weeks on how we stand. Remember, donations dated through October 31 will count towards this year’s walks!

On behalf of the Central New York Chapter staff, we thank each and every one of you for time and support.