SAN YSIDRO, CA – Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to a published report by the National Alzheimer’s Association, are projected to increase more than six-fold among Hispanics in the United during the first half of the 21st Century. Across the nation, this increase means that 1.3 million Hispanics (25 million total Americans) will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050, compared to 200,000 currently living with the disease.
The Latino Alzheimer’s Community Forum will discuss Alzheimer’s Disease and the State’s Alzheimer’s Disease Plan on Saturday, June 19, 2010 at SYHC’s Adult Day Health Center, 3364 Beyer Blvd., San Ysidro from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The forum, coordinated by San Ysidro Health Center and supported by Southern California Caregiver Resource Center, Alzheimer’s Association – San Diego/Imperial Chapter, UCSD Shirley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Casa Familiar and Maxim Companion Services, is designed for people responsible for the care and well being of individuals with Alzheimer’s.
Ed Martinez, CEO of San Ysidro Health Center and a member of California’s Alzheimer’s Plan Task Force, noted that in San Diego County’s South Bay region, with its growing population of Hispanics, the issue merits immediate attention.
“We have an estimated 1,200 Hispanics in our South Bay region, and more than 15,000 across the county, who suffer from this incurable disease,” said Martinez. “At San Ysidro Health Center alone, we serve a number of at-risk Hispanics who are 65 years and older.”
Martinez noted that the Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force is seeking response from the Latino community on the yet-to-be released California Alzheimer’s Disease State Plan.
To register for the Latino Alzheimer’s Community Forum, please visit www.syhc.org or call (619) 662-4100 by Friday, June 11, 2010.