Collaborative Study to Explore Benefits of Alzheimer’s Programs

FOR OFFICIAL RELEASE | SEPT 12, 2017

Alzheimer’s memory loss due to Dementia and brain disease with the abstract medical icon of a human head and neurology research as a 3D illustration.

Contact: Chris Hendriks, Vice President, Public & External Affairs, Catholic Health Services

Contact: Elisa Gerber, Public Relations Manager, Catholic Health Services, 516.705.1871

More than 50,000 Long Islanders are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to rise. With the increasing need for services, the Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center is partnering with Catholic Health Services (CHS) on a two-year study of the impact of Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center’s programs. This collaboration between Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center and CHS—a major, integrated health care delivery system for the region—is supported by the New York State DSRIP (Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment) program.

Kicking off in July, the study will document the benefit of Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center’s Social Model Day Program in helping individuals with Alzheimer’s to remain in their homes and communities longer and to require less frequent in-hospital stays. The cooperative DSRIP project will support the referral of CHS’s Medicaid-eligible Alzheimer’s patients to Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center with the goal of reducing emergency department visits and hospitalizations among this population.

“We’re hoping that by the conclusion of this study,” said Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center Executive Director Tori Cohen, LCSW, “the state will see how social day programs can positively impact a person’s quality of life after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, including keeping the individual in the community as long as possible.”

In addition to programs for early, moderate and late stages of Alzheimer’s, Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center offers caregiver support groups and in-home respite among their services. This latest effort represents yet another new chapter in Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center’s goal to extend its reach to more individuals in need of its services. A nonprofit, Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center began this quest earlier this year, when the organization moved from its longtime Port Washington location to a new, state-of-the-art center in Westbury.

“Being more centrally located will allow us to serve more families. We’re excited that our partnership with CHS will further allow us to reach out to even more individuals by connecting their network of participants to our programs,” added Cohen.

Caption: Music is part of Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center’s Social Model Day Program. Participants gathered for a performance recently in the cheerful presentation room at Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center’s new Westbury center.

For more information about the Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center, please call (516) 767-6856.

For 29 years, Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center has been providing supportive community-based services to Alzheimer’s families on Long Island. Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center offers critically needed social adult day programs for individuals facing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their caregivers. Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center takes considerable pride in its pioneering role in the development of cutting edge services that foster the independence, dignity, well-being and safety of individuals with Alzheimer’s. For information call (516) 767-6856 or visit www.lidementia.org

About Catholic Health ServicesCatholic Health Services (CHS) is an integrated system encompassing some of the region’s finest health and human services agencies. With approximately 22,000 staff members, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home nursing service, hospice, a community-based agency for persons with special needs and a regional lab, CHS’s high standards have resulted in a 23% market share.