Memory Health Summit Draws Interest

By Misty Cryer

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s Age-Friendly Council is hosting a free seminar to help individuals in the community and their loved ones navigate facing dementia and memory loss. The Memory Health Summit aims to bring education, awareness, and information about local resources related to the topic.

The seminar is scheduled for Thursday, January 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pecos River Village Conference Center, 711 Muscatel Avenue.

“One of the missions of the Age Friendly Council is to find items of community interest which people need more information about,” said Kyle Marksteiner, Executive Director of United Way of Eddy County, who is serving as chairperson of the Memory Health Summit as a long-term member of the council.

Noting that Janelle Whitlock led the way in establishing Carlsbad as an Age-Friendly Community, Marksteiner said the council has addressed subjects relating to serving veterans, teen suicide, and the stresses of life post-COVID.

Aside from activities the Age-Friendly Council is engaged in, like organizing fun casino trips and hosting the Valentine’s Day Dance, he said, part of the mission is to identify topics community members are encountering that they may not be prepared to handle.

Through conversations with community members, Marksteiner said, it was evident that when people have a loved one begin to experience signs of dementia, or when they are concerned about themselves, often they don’t understand what steps to take.

According to the tentative agenda, bios of speakers and panelists, and the list of booths provided at press time, both state and local professionals will be present, along with representatives of local organizations.

Julie Rogers, Community Engagement Manager with the New Mexico Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, is expected to deliver an educational talk titled “Introduction to Dementia and Alzheimer’s.”

Highlighting Rogers’ education in clinical nutrition and social work, with a focus on community-level interventions that support healthy aging and brain health, her bio says, “Julie’s dedication to dementia care is deeply personal—she lost her grandmother and great aunt to different forms of dementia, and served as a full-time caregiver for an individual living with a traumatic brain injury. As a result, she brings both professional expertise and personal insight to her work with families navigating the dementia journey.”

On behalf of the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), Katheryne Lay, SE SHIP Coordinator, is scheduled to speak. Focused on assisting older adults, caregivers, and adults with disabilities and their families in the southeast part of the state, Katheryne’s bio says she counsels beneficiaries about Medicare concerns, connects them with cost-saving programs, provides referrals for social services, and educates the public about Medicare Fraud.

Following these two presentations, panel discussions will occur featuring Dr. Peter Jewell, a family medicine physician and primary care provider with Artesia General Hospital, Dr. Leonel Perez-Limonte, who serves as medical director with Carlsbad Medical Center’s inpatient rehabilitation unit and practices at Pecos Valley Neurology, and Roxy Knealing, Activity Director at Lakeview Christian Home for both the nursing home and the assisted living program.

Booths expected to be setup at the summit include AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), Advance Heart and Vascular Center of New Mexico, Alejandro Ruiz Center, Artesia General Hospital, Carlsbad Medical Center, CNB Wealth Management, Cornerstone Caregiving, Enhabit Home Health, North Mesa Senior Center, and Permian Basin Counseling.

“It’s a good mix,” said Marksteiner, noting the combination of medical and other community resources. He said it was interesting to have someone represent financial planning. In situations where someone may be dealing with dementia in the next phase of their life, he said, they can learn what they can do to protect their family financially.

Through discussions with people, Marksteiner said he learned, “When you are dealing with the person who raised you, and now you are having to look at the other end of it and help them—it is such an emotionally complex situation.”

With Permian Basin Counseling there, Marksteiner said attendees can learn some professional ways to help that person, as well as help themselves. “It is a form of grieving, and I think in some cases, it can be an especially difficult thing for people to cope with,” he said.

Seats for the summit are filling up quickly, said Marksteiner, advising interested parties to contact him at 575-887-3504 or by email (director@uweddyco.org) to see if any spots are available.

“It is very clear that there is a kind of a thirst for more knowledge about this topic,” he said, adding, this is a good start, and he would like to see if they could get two or three sponsors to expand it to do even more with this topic in the future.