On Saturday, November 22, 2014, over 150 people from the Philadelphia community joined Penn Memory Center and First Corinthian Baptist Church in West Philadelphia for their Cognitive Health Fair.
The fair, which was a collaborative effort between the Center (PMC) and one of their research participants and Community Advisory Board members, Ms. Elsie Shelton, targeted local seniors to educate them on the importance of blending a healthy diet, physical exercise, and social and mental engagement to maintain both cognitive and heart health. After all, what’s good for your heart is good for your brain.
The day kicked off with words of appreciation from Pastor Thomas of First Corinthian Baptist Church and Dr. Jason Karlawish, Associate Director of the Penn Memory Center. The fair provided a variety of services to the community including:
- free glaucoma screenings from the Scheie Eye Institute
- blood pressure screenings and health education materials from Penn Geriatric’s Nurse Practitioner Johanne Louis
- giveaways and education materials provided by Penn Dental students
- healthy brain aging handouts and research opportunities from Penn Memory Center
- caregiver support resources from Jean Kirkley of Boomer R Heroes
- educational materials about AD and caregiver support from Rev. Barbara Jones of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association
- information about the Philadelphia Games which is an Olympic style event for people 50 years of age and older distributed by the City’s Parks and Recreation
For more information please contact Tigist Hailu at tigist.hailu@uphs.upenn.edu .