JHUHI Awards $15,000 to Alzheimer's Association's African-American Community Forum on Memory Loss

TIMONIUM, Md. (Nov. 4, 2015) – Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute (JHUHI) has awarded $15,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association’s Pythias A. and Virginia I. Jones African-American Community Forum on Memory Loss, naming it the winner of its 2015 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award.

JHUHI established the award in 2009 in memory of former Turner Station resident and Johns Hopkins cancer patient Henrietta Lacks, whose cells helped scientists make ground-breaking advances in medical research. It is intended to be an enduring reminder of her contribution to medical science and to her community.

The Forum was created 11 years ago by former State Senator Verna L. Jones-Rodwell and her sister, Ernestine Jones Jolivet, in memory of their parents who were affected by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It has grown each year and now draws over 400 family caregivers, health professionals, business leaders and policymakers.

“Winning this award is so humbling and I am honored by the fact that it is in place,” Jones-Rodwell said. “Each year, new families attend the Forum demonstrating that there is still a great need for it.”

EVENT ORIGINS

While their parents declined with the disease, the Jones sisters and their siblings struggled for years on their own seeking guidance. Their first attempt to seek help from a support group left them stunned because they were the only African-Americans in the room.

This happened despite the fact that the prevalence, incidence and cumulative risk of Alzheimer’s disease appears to be much higher in African-Americans, and older African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s and other dementias than older whites.

The sisters brought together the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Maryland Chapter, Johns Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center, Coppin State University and the Baltimore City Health Department Division of Aging and Care Services to collaborate on an annual, day-long event for families of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other illnesses that create memory loss.

“By presenting the Forum at Coppin State, families have a familiar, comfortable space to ask questions, network and find support,” said Crystal Day-Black, assistant professor at Coppin State University and one of the Forum’s organizers.

“It’s important to develop a trusting relationship with those who can tell us about the disorder, about treatment, about care,” she added. “That’s been the biggest (success) that has happened with the Forum—we’re developing trust in the community. Coppin, as a historically black college and institution, is trusted in the neighborhood.”

For the Alzheimer’s Association, the Forum represented an opportunity to reach an underserved population in the community. “We recognized that our organization did not reflect the community we were serving,” said Cass Naugle, executive director. “This Forum has had a wonderful impact on the community, as well as on our organization.”

“We have seen increases in African American participation in just about every aspect of our organization—in our services, care consultation, our helpline, our support groups—and now we actually have people who look like the community we’re serving delivering those services,” Naugle added.

“The Forum is an inspiring example of what is possible when Johns Hopkins and the community work together,” says JHUHI Director Robert Blum. “This collaboration has created a model for engagement with the Baltimore community that transforms lives.”

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S FORUM

The 11th Pythias A. and Virginia I. Jones African-American Community Forum on Memory Loss will take place, Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Coppin State University.

Lisa Barnes, Ph.D. (Rush University Medical Center) will open the Forum with the plenary talk on the risk factors for dementia in older African-Americans. Morning and afternoon breakout sessions will cover legal and financial planning, medication management, causes of dementia and how to diagnose them, healthy habits and managing caregiver stress.

The closing panel discussion will explore programs and services to help dementia caregivers. Additionally, attendees can receive nutrition consultations and blood pressure screenings, and schedule Glaucoma screenings.

Event admission is free and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. For more information call 800.272.3900 or visit www.alz.org/maryland.

ABOUT THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION 

The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Its mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Its vision is a world without Alzheimer’s®. Visit alz.org/maryland or call 800.272.3900.