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Banner Alzheimer’s Institute ready to welcome first patients
BAI’s Memory Disorders Clinic opens this week
PHOENIX (July 11, 2006) — This week, Banner Health celebrates a milestone in the development of a proposed national center of excellence for Alzheimer’s disease research and care: the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI) welcomes its first patients to the Institute’s Memory Disorders Clinic. The Clinic offers comprehensive consultation for patients with memory and thinking problems by experts in the field. It will provide specific diagnostic, treatment, and disease management recommendations for the patient, family and caregivers, and referring physician. After the evaluation is complete, patients will be referred back to their primary care physicians. In some cases, they may be followed intermittently on a consultative basis, with regular updates provided to their physicians. The Memory Disorders Clinic also offers involvement in BAI’s Family and Community Support program, which affords supplemental educational, social, and emotional support for patients and families as they navigate this difficult illness. Where appropriate, information will be given to patients and caregivers about relevant participation in clinical trials of the most promising treatments. “Our first patient is a major milestone for the Institute. We are also excited by the implementation of the Family and Community Support program, which will offer unique services to families and caregivers of people with dementia to help them cope across the disease trajectory,” said Pierre N. Tariot, M.D., BAI associate director. “Additionally, we are launching a number of clinical treatment studies that are geared to benefit our patients. We are pleased to be joining forces with other centers of excellence in the Valley to improve care for people with memory problems and dementia.” The Clinic is staffed by Dr. Tariot and Roy Yaari, M.D., formerly of the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of California San Diego's School of Medicine, the premier dementia program in the country. Karen Elderkin joins the BAI staff as Memory Disorders Clinic Manager. Over time, there will be as many as a dozen dementia specialists in the Clinic. Just over nine months has passed since the Banner Health board of directors formally approved the creation of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, an organization whose mission is “to end Alzheimer’s disease without losing a generation; to set a new standard of care for patients and families; and to forge a model of collaboration in biomedical research.” Under the leadership of executive director Eric Reiman, M.D., a world-renowned researcher, the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute has attracted a team of researchers and administrators ripe with talent, including Dr. Tariot and Dr. Yaari. Other key players in the areas of research, clinical trials and information technology have also come on board, including Helle Brand, a physician assistant specializing in care and study of older people with memory and thinking disorders. Based in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, not-for-profit health care systems in the country. In the communities it serves – from Alaska to Arizona – Banner Health has more experience caring for patients than any other organization. We proudly believe this experience helps us realize our mission: We exist to make a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care.