Alzheimer’s Care: 

Harnessing the Power of Consistency 

Offered in collaboration with the

Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter

Date:    Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Time:    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 Location: The Pavilion, 1602 Sioux Drive, Marion, Illinois 

Join us for the this fun and interactive conference to learn the best communication approaches at every stage of the disease and the most effective techniques for addressing behaviors of various dementia types.

The Alzheimer’s Association has consistently brought timely topics with practical ideas and interventions to this annual conference in southern Illinois.  A wide variety of exhibitors and additional resources will be available.  

Faculty:

Hadi Finerty is the Senior Manager of Education and Outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association- Illinois Chapter. She strives to educate five counties in Illinois on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias including warning signs, planning ahead and promoting brain health. Hadi graduated from Quincy University with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting and a minor in journalism. Hadi was and is affected personally by AD through her grandma, who was diagnosed in 1999 with dementia. In her current role Hadi strives to make an impact on families and the community by sharing her own personal experiences with Alzheimer’s disease.

Elaine T. Jurkowski is a Professor in Social Work and Program Director at Southern Illinois University’s Gerontology Programs, where she holds a joint appointment with Health Education and the School of Medicine’s Family Practice Residency Program. Her published research articles have focused on the topics of health disparities, access to mental health and healthcare services, aging, and disability issues. Dr. Jurkowski has held elected offices in the American Public Health Association (A.P.H.A.), the National Association of Social Workers (N.A.S.W.), the Gerontological Society of America (G.S.A.), and the Illinois Rural Health Association (I.R.H.A.). Her work experiences have included consultation within settings in West Africa, Hong Kong, India, China, Russia, and Egypt. She is the author of nine published books and numerous professional articles within the Aging arena. Dr. Jurkowski’s community service includes serving as a member of the Board of Directors for various not-for-profit healthcare agencies within the Southern Illinois area, and journal reviewer for numerous academic journals. In addition, has been active with the United Way funding allocations system in various locations throughout her career. She is also an advisor to the Southern Illinois Pioneer Coalition Advisory Board and currently serves on community boards such as Caring Counseling Ministries (Marion, Illinois), Supporting People in Need (S.P.I.N; Murphysboro, Illinois) and UNA/USA Southern Illinois Chapter.

Lindsey Teefey leads Stepping Up, an exercise-based program from the Smith Alzheimer’s Center at SIU-Medicine. After growing up in Anna, IL and graduating from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Lindsey joined the Smith Alzheimer’s Center in the Spring of 2022. In October of 2022, Lindsey became program coordinator for the Minds in Motion program at the Smith Alzheimer’s Center as well. As a college student, a mentor encouraged me to job shadow a physical therapist, and from that day forward, she knew she would really enjoy the field because it was a practical way of helping people through exercise and physical activity. She graduated from the physical therapist assistant program at SIU-C and went on to get her bachelor’s in communications. She is currently working on her master’s in aging studies at Easter Illinois University. Her and her family moved to Springfield in 2006 where she has enjoyed providing physical therapy in mostly home health settings in Springfield and surrounding areas. She really grew to love home health because it felt like she was empowering people to be more independent in their own homes by helping them prevent their chances of falls or injury and aid in maintaining their functional ability. She has already seen so many benefits of the Stepping Up program- not only are participants learning routines to maintain mobility and strength, but they are working on balance to decrease fall risk. Most importantly though, she has seen community and friendships grow between classmates that are truly irreplaceable.

Mehul Trivedi is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Neuropsychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at SIU School of Medicine. He completed his Clinical Neuropsychology Residency in the Department of Neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Northern Illinois University and a Clinical Psychology re-specialization program at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was previously employed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center. His clinical interests include neuropsychological evaluation in individuals with neurological, psychiatric, and general medical conditions with a particular focus on the detection of normal versus abnormal aging.

 Conflict of Interest Policy Statement:   Faculty participating in this program are expected to disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict(s) or unlabeled use related to the content of their presentations.