Attorney looks at role of clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease treatment, Thursday, March 3

Patients, families, caregivers, and community members invited to attend

(SHARON, MA) – When a critical illness strikes, participation in a clinical trial may be the final stop on a desperate journey of diminishing hope. On Thursday, March 3, experienced health policy expert and health care attorney Heather Sawitsky takes the lectern at the Sharon Public Library (SPL) to examine Clinical Trials as They Relate to Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The 90-minute presentation is the next program in the ongoing Our Partners in Health (OPH) community education series.

General counsel and director of project development at White Oak Cottages in Westwood and a certified trainer of the Alzheimer’s Association Habilitation Training curriculum, Sawitsky speaks from both professional and family experience with memory loss. Her presentation will focus on an overview of how researchers use data and clinical trials to discover what causes diseases with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease. The talk will be interactive and will include a discussion of how laypeople can critically evaluate treatment claims and learn more about ongoing clinical trials on Alzheimer’s disease. The talk will be presented in the SPL’s Cynthia B. Fox Community Room at 7:00-8:30 pm.

Sawitsky’s program will be followed on March 15 by a presentation about Creating Meaningful Activities for People with Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia and other Forms of Memory Loss, by occupational therapist Linda Einis, OT/ATP. A program by Orchard Cove internist Jennifer Brinckerhoff, MD, will be held at 12:00 pm at the Sharon Council on Aging on March 23. Dr. Brinckerhoff will discuss, Healthy Aging: A Geriatrician’s Perspective. All OPH programs are free and open to the public.

Our Partners in Health is a collaborative comprising the Sharon Public Library in partnership with the Sharon Council on Aging, Epoch Senior Healthcare of Sharon, Hebrew Senior Life, Health & Social Services Consortium, Inc. (HESSCO), Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Orchard Cove, White Oak Cottages, and Your Elder Care Experts. For more information about Our Partners in Health and upcoming OPH programs, contact SPL Library Director Lee Ann Amend at 781.784.1578, ext. 1425, or visit www.sharonpubliclibrary.org.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. #HHS-N-276-2011-0001C with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

ABOUT THE SHARON PUBLIC LIBRARY

A member of the Old Colony Library Network (OCLN) with a collection in a wide range of traditional and digital formats, the Sharon Public Library (SPL) is committed to serving the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of all members of the Sharon community by providing access to a professional staff, a state-of-the-art facility and quality materials, programs and service.

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