UW Center on Aging to Host Rocky Mountain Alzheimers Summit May 18

The University of Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) will host the Rocky Mountain Alzheimer’s Summit for health care professionals, direct care workers, older adults and caregivers of individuals with dementia Wednesday through Friday, May 18-20.

Participants will have the opportunity to attend virtually or in person at Cheyenne’s Little America Conference Center. Registration is $25 just for the Caregiver Workshops May 18, scheduled from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost for the two-day summit for health care and social service providers May 19-20 is $125. The May 19 session is from 8:45 a.m.-4:45 p.m., and the next day’s session is from 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m. Up to 18.75 continuing education credits will be available for professional attendees.

Cost is the same for online and in-person attendance. With the theme of “A BOLD Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease,” the summit will feature national experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s BOLD (Building Our Largest Dementia) Public Health Centers of Excellence on Alzheimer’s disease. For more information and to register, visit the WyCOA website here.

Wyoming is projected to experience one of the most significant increases in the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the nation, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of older adults in Wyoming living with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase by 30 percent.

“It is crucial that family caregivers, health care professionals, social service providers and community members are educated about Alzheimer’s disease and feel prepared to provide the best care possible,” says Catherine Carrico, associate director of WyCOA and a clinical associate professor in the UW Department of Psychology.

WyCOA received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to fund the Rocky Mountain Alzheimer’s Summit. Event partners are Wyoming AARP; Alzheimer’s Association Wyoming Chapter (Cheyenne); Wyoming Department of Health Aging Division; Wyoming Dementia Care (Casper); and the Hub on Smith (Sheridan).

For more information, call WyCOA at (307) 766-2829 or email wycoa@uwyo.edu.