Latest News

By Danny Yarnall

Pamela Bryan could tell her husband David was struggling. Social-distancing restrictions shrunk their world to their East Oak Lane home and David, who lives with Mild Cognitive Impairment, started faltering in his memory more than usual.

“I noticed a decline,” she said. “There were changes in his forgetfulness, like where he was, and I’d have to remind him that this was our house.”

Isolation has left many caregivers feeling overwhelmed by constant care and presence with their loved ones, with fewer options to find relief and time to themselves. Some people living with dementia are more vulnerable to confusion and decline as routines they grounded themselves in are disrupted. One pilot program from Penn Memory Center and Temple University is adapting to meet caregivers’ needs both now and in the future.

Once a resource for caregivers and their loved ones to receive in-home respite care and engagement, Time Out Respite Care is pivoting to an online pilot program called Time Out Weekly Smile.

By Danny Yarnall

In 2019, after a quarter-century of scholarship in theater arts, Anne Basting, PhD was a veteran in the theatre world and experienced on many stages, but none like the stage at Morgantown Care and Rehabilitation in Morgantown, Kentucky.

It was the opening for the first of three adaptations of Peter Pan, performed at 12 rural nursing homes scattered across the state. Their take on the classic children’s story was born out of hundreds of sessions facilitated by Dr. Basting and trained volunteers from her TimeSlips organization and performed by residents, volunteers, and staff.

“These residents, several of whom had not been out of their rooms for months, were about to welcome an audience to see them and their nursing home in a completely new light. They were inviting their audience to see beauty and meaning in a place where most people only see overwhelming loss,” Dr. Basting recalled in a virtual discussion with the Penn Memory Center on Wednesday, May 27.

By Danny Yarnall

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many healthcare providers scrambling for resources to treat cases over the last several months. And public health officials fear a resurgence in cases. Doctors and healthcare professionals may be forced into difficult decisions: whom do you save?

In a recent paper published in The BMJ, authors Andrew Peterson, PhD; Penn Memory Center Clark Scholar Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN; and PMC Co-Director Jason Karlawish, MD, analyzed the ethics of allocating scarce medical resources in the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing potential harms to at-risk populations.

“The potential for [allocation decisions] to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations—including older adults, people from minority communities, or people with disabilities—is a particular concern,” the authors wrote.

We are a nation, a city, at a crossroads.

Driven by the unjust killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black individuals, Americans are confronting the painful truth that discrimination and systemic racism are present in our daily lives. Across the globe and within our own West Philadelphia neighborhoods, people are taking to the streets with a clear message: Black Lives Matter.

By Danny Yarnall

Emily Largent, PhD, JD, RN, was recently selected to be part of the Greenwall Foundation’s Faculty Scholars class of 2023.

“I’m thrilled to have the Greenwall Foundation’s support to work on my project, ‘Autonomy on the Precipice of Cognitive Decline,’ Dr. Largent said. “This project will examine—from ethical, legal, and social perspectives—how our evolving understanding of Alzheimer’s disease is redefining and reshaping the patient experience.”

By Danny Yarnall 

Three Penn Memory Center (PMC) research coordinators — Allie Weiss, Sidnei McCrea, and Olivia Sykes — are departing the center this summer as they prepare to begin their medical school careers.

Weiss joined PMC in 2017 and has been instrumental to the Phase III Biogen study as a research coordinator and conducting cognitive assessments for our Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) Study. She will attend Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson University.

“Her intelligence, dedication, and kindness were apparent in all the work she did during her time at the Penn Memory Center,” said PMC Co-Director David Wolk, MD. “Our staff, faculty, and patients will miss her, but we are very excited for the many contributions she will make as a physician.”

By Danny Yarnall

A bill aimed at protecting seniors from financial scams was recently introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS).

Presented on Thursday, May 21, 2020, The Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act calls for the Financial Trade Commission (FTC) to submit a report to Congress on COVID-19 scams directed against older adults along with suggestions on how to stop such scams.

In a time where state and federal government efforts look to provide relief to its most at-risk citizens, scammers look to prey on seniors. The IRS sent out an alert in April warning against phishing scams, specifically those requiring confirmation of financial information to receive coronavirus stimulus checks.

“Now during the COVID-19 pandemic, these scammers are using fear and uncertainty to take advantage of our vulnerable populations,” Sen. Moran said in a statement.

Join the Penn Memory Center Wednesday morning for a discussion with gerontologist Anne Basting, PhD, an innovator in dementia care, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and author of the new book, “Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care,” available now through HarperCollins Publishers.

When: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Where: BlueJeans (Google Chrome recommended)

Thanks to a generous donation, the Penn Memory Center social work team has ten $100 gift cards to Starr Restaurants to give away. These gift cards can be redeemed now for take-out or saved for when restaurants reopen.

The anonymous donor has requested that these cards go to PMC caregivers who are experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. If this describes you, enter the drawing below.

Winners will be selected randomly and announced on Friday, May 29. Gift cards will be mailed directly to recipients. Good luck!

Questions? E-mail felicia.greenfield@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.