Building Knowledge for

Effective Alzheimer’s Care

A Professional Conference

Offered in collaboration with the

Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter

Date:    Friday, June 16, 2023

Time:    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 Location: Par-A-Dice Hotel, East Peoria, Illinois 

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

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

Faculty:

Jennifer Arnold is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and the Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at SIU School of Medicine. She completed her MD and PhD degrees at the University of Illinois and completed a neurology residency at the University of Michigan. She stayed at the University of Michigan to complete two fellowships in cognitive disorders and movement disorders. Growing up in Springfield, Dr. Arnold returned to her hometown to establish her career at the Smith Alzheimer’s Center in 2021.

Denise Ihrig is an advocate for aging-in-place. As Director of the Bureau County Senior Center, she has devoted the last 17 years to supporting and advocating for older adults in rural Illinois. Recently, Denise had the distinguished honor of leading an initiative for Princeton, Illinois to achieve national recognition as a Dementia Friendly America Community. Through her leadership, and the combined efforts of many committed community members, several initiatives are underway to ensure older adults with dementia can live and thrive in their homes and community, truly aging-in-place.

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.

Deborah Kuhns currently works on programming for patients and caregivers at the Smith Alzheimer Center at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The Center is located in Springfield, Illinois and is one of three state designated Regional Alzheimer Disease Centers. The programs Debbie works with are called Beyond the Medical Center and involve keeping the patient’s mind and body active with exercise, art, music and various other activities. Debbie has a passion for helping those suffering from Alzheimer’s whether it be a patient, caregiver or family member. She also provides education and survival tips in her Dementia Caregiving 101 series to the community.

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.

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.