Celebrating Happy Days, November 8! Join us tomorrow for ACA’s annual Walking to Remember event, 300 Office Park Drive. Registration begins at 9 am and the Walk gets underway at 10 am. Bring families and friends to help raise money for ACA’s service programs. Walkers donating a minimum of $50 receive a short sleeved t-shirt. Walkers raising a minimum of $75 receive a long sleeved shirt. Walkers donating a minimum of $100 receive a shirt of their choice and a special gift (while supplies last). The National Anthem will be sung by Kristie Tingle Higginbotham. Music, food, fun and a vintage car show. https://alzca.org/walking/
Alzheimer’s Day of Prayer and Remembrance, November 9. Visit www.alzca.org for a copy of the prayer.
Join Renee Harmon for a book signing for Life Hikes, November 11, at Little Professor Bookstore in Homewood, 6:00 pm. Renee is a retired physician and author. She will serve as ACA’s President in 2026. Life Hikes is Renee’s second book and is a powerful and hopeful essay collection exploring grief, courage, and the healing power of nature. Renee lost her husband, Harvey, to younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease when he was only fifty-eight years old. For more information and to register: https://littleprofessorbookshop.com/products/renee-harmon-book-launch
Here is the link to the book on Amazon: Amazon.com: Life Hikes: Walking Through Loss to What Comes After eBook : Harmon MD, Renée Brown : Books
Workshop Empowering Caregivers: Strategies for Healthcare Planning and Supporting Brain Health, November 13, 2:30 -5:00 pm. Part 1: Facilitating Healthcare and End of Life Discussions with Patients and Families offers specific suggestions to facilitate critical conversations presented by Dr. Beverly Thorn, Professor Emerita, The University of Alabama, Psychologist, End of Life Doula, Author, Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver. Part 2: Precision Brain Health: Preventing and Stabilizing Cognitive Impairment offers strategies to support cognitive and emotional health of patients, care partners, and practitioners to delay and prevent decline and poor quality of life, presented by Dr. Kristine Lokken, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurobiology, UAB, Neuropsychologist & Director of the UAB Precision Brain Health Service, President, Alabama Psychological Association. UAB Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center (Room 201), 701 19th Street South, Birmingham, https://www.alapsych.org/event-6403455
Caregiver College, November 13, 10 – 2 pm, Synergic Center, 3560 5th Street, Northport. Presented by the Area Agency on Aging of West Alabama. Free educational workshops, resources, lunch and door prizes. RSVP by November 7 to Karlene Renna: 205-333-2990, ext 265.
The Challenges and Gifts of Caregiving for a Loved One Living with Dementia, November 20, 1 – 3 pm. Presented by Renée Brown Harmon, MD, author of Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s, and Beverly E. Thorn, PhD, author of Before I Lose My Own Mind. Together, they’ll share insights and practical guidance drawn from their personal and professional caregiving journeys.
Support Group Meetings:
- ACA’s support group with Miller & Vance, Tuesday, November 18, 11:00 – noon CT. There Call (205) 871-7970 or mpiggott@alzca.org. Join us on zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85247427423
- CJFS CARES, Mondays at 3 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- St Lukes Episcopal Church on Tuesdays at 10:15. Contact Betsy Smith (smith35213@gmail.com) or Janis Cole (janiscarole3@aol.com).
- West Alabama Area Agency on Aging, Caregiver Support Group, Tuesdays, contact Robin Montgomery, robin.montgomery@westal.org.
- M4A’s Caregiver Support Group, 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, 10 – 11:30 am, Montevallo. Contact Robyn James, rjames@m4a.org.
- The Oaks on Parkwood, 4th Tuesday’s, 10:00 am, Contact: Karen Glover, karenrglover@gmail.com.
- CJFS CARES, Tuesdays, 7:00 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- United Way Area Agency on Aging of Jefferson County, 3rd Tuesday of each month 11:30-12:30, contact Valarie Lawson, vlawson@uwaaa.org
- Eastaboga, 2nd Tuesday, 6:00 pm. Contact Julie Slagle jslagle@lakesidehospice.org
- Trussville, 3rd Tuesday, 6:00 pm. Contact Julie Slagle jslagle@lakesidehospice.org
- Covenant Presbyterian Church, first Wednesday of the month, 10 am, church parlor, Contact Kristian Hatley at Khatley@covpress.com.
- M4A virtual support group, 3rd Wednesdays 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Contact Chalane Mims, cmims@m4a.org.
- Asbury United Methodist Church 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 1:00, contact Maggie Dunaway at mdunaway@asburyonline.org.
- AFTD support group, second Tuesday of the month. Amber Guy: 251-281-5344.
- Holy Apostles Church, Hoover, 2nd and 4th Thursdays 10:30-noon, contact Michele Elrod: Michelerelrod@att.net.
- St. Mark’s UMC, Vestavia Hills, Fridays at 1 pm. Contact Donna Baird: (205)717-9880.
Alzheimer’s News:
This Veterans Day Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama extends our deepest gratitude to all who have served. Your courage, dedication, and sacrifice have shaped our nation. Research shows that Veterans may face a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s and related conditions due to factors like traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On November 11 and every day, we honor your service. https://www.va.gov/geriatrics/pages/alzheimers_and_dementia_care.asp
Current statistics on chronic diseases shine a harsh spotlight on the state of health and well-being in the United States. A fatal cardiovascular event occurs every 34 seconds in this country, causing 1 in 3 deaths annually. Over 50% of adults meet the diagnostic criteria for prediabetes or diabetes. Recent research estimates a 42% lifetime risk for dementia after age 55, and new dementia cases are projected to double by 2060. Life expectancy at birth for Americans continues to lag behind our peer nations. The magnitude of these problems can seem daunting, but clinicians and health systems are beginning to shift the paradigm, pivoting from disease management toward root-cause interventions. Lifestyle medicine has become an important part of this transition, offering a framework for managing chronic disease and improving the health of our nation. Shifting the Paradigm of Healthcare: Lifestyle Medicine 2025
Research increasingly shows that daily habits can influence how the brain ages. While genetics and age remain major risk factors for cognitive decline, studies suggest that lifestyle factors — from diet and exercise to sleep and social connection — play an important role in preserving brain function and reducing dementia risk. The POINTER trial is among the most comprehensive studies exploring lifestyle and brain health. The multi-year clinical trial enrolled 2,111 adults ages 60 – 79 and tested a combination of interventions — including nutrition guidance, physical activity, cognitive training, and cardiovascular health monitoring — in older adults at risk for dementia. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-guided or structured program. Both groups showed a rise in global cognitive function. There was a statistically significant extra benefit for the structured group on cognition over and above the self-guided group. BeingPatient breaks down what the researchers learned about nutrition, exercise, mentally stimulating activities, sleep, stress, and social ties. https://beingpatient.com/science-backed-brain-health-lifestyle-changes/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s 2026 Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship Contest is accepting applications now through March 1, 2026. The scholarship provides educational funding to college-bound high school seniors who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s. Applicants are asked to write an essay (1,500 word maximum) or submit a video no more than 4 minutes long, describing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia-related illness on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned from it. More than $520,000 in college scholarships have been awarded since the program’s inception. https://alzfdn.org/scholarship/
If you’re looking for practical guidance on mealtime with someone living with dementia, “Eating and Dementia” from AFA offers strategies such as keeping a mealtime routine, simplifying meals, using adaptive utensils, and making meals more enjoyable and accessible. Pause, appreciate, and savor both the flavors on your plate and the relationships at your table. https://alzfdn.org/eating-tips/
The Dementia Action Alliance has produced an extraordinary how-to manual with essential information about living with dementia. In the manual’s “Words Matter” section, contributors emphasize how language shapes dignity, self perception, and social attitudes toward dementia. Rather than labels that reduce people to their diagnosis, the section promotes person centered language. Here are a few examples:
- “Living with dementia,” not “the demented”
- “Stress reactions”, not “aggressive behavior”
- “Person” or “individual”, not “patient”
These shifts aren’t just semantic: it affirms the full personhood of those whose lives include dementia and helps reduce stigma. Download the new manual: https://daanow.org/pathways/
The 2025 NIH Dementia Research Progress Report underscores advances in anti-amyloid immunotherapies, biomarker development, and translational science—while emphasizing the need for broader, inclusive trials. Read more here: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/2025-nih-dementia-research-progress-report
The Lancet has published a 3 part series on Alzheimer’s. The initial successes of anti-amyloid β monoclonal antibodies offer new perspectives for improving the clinical trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease for the first time since its identification in 1906. The impact of this treatment will extend from diagnosis and understanding disease pathophysiology to the development of prevention strategies. The series covers:
- New landscape of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
- Treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease outlook: controversies and future directions