|
Cross Train Your Brain Educational Programs
|
|
|
NASHVILLE
4/21/2009 |
|
|
The brain is the one part of the body that makes everything work. It holds one’s intellect, memory, sensory perception, ability to reason, and more. As with any part of a body, the brain must be exercised and conditioned to keep working properly.
Brookdale Senior Living, the largest owner and operator of senior living communities in the United States, along with the Institute for Optimal Aging, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of older adults, will be sponsoring open forums on brain fitness.
Kevin W. O’Neil, MD, FACP, a specialist in Internal Medicine, Geriatrician, and Medical Director of Optimum Life® for Brookdale Senior Living will be a featured speaker. His presentation, "Cross Train Your Brain," is a discussion tailored to older adults with the goal of improving cognitive health and reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias through practicing several lifestyle factors.
In addition to Dr. O’Neil’s appearance, local medical professional experts will be featured as keynote speakers and respected institutions will be used as venues. Scheduled speakers include Christine Tangney of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Tangney has a PhD in nutrition, and is the research director of the Preventative Cardiac Center at Rush. For the Jacksonville, Fla. event, Brookdale and The Institute for Optimal Aging have teamed up with the Jacksonville Mayor’s office of special events for seniors and The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. In Los Angeles, Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging and best-selling author will be featured. In Texas, the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center and Dr. Richard King, neurologist at the Memory Center at UT SW Medical Center is speaking. St. Luke’s Medical Center and Dr. Marilyn Rymer, MD and founder and director of Mid America Brain and Stroke Institute in Kansas City will be featured at the event in Kansas.
Attendees will learn the benefits of brain fitness, and the many ways to accomplish improved cognitive ability, including physical activity.
"Research has confirmed that keeping our brains stimulated helps brain cells to survive," said Dr. O’Neil. "This needs to be coupled with physical activity."
Attendees will also learn to live a holistic lifestyle that emphasizes brain health for an Optimum Life®. A way of life offered exclusively by Brookdale Senior Living at its communities, Optimum Life®, focuses on six key dimensions - emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and purposeful.
"Cross Train Your Brain offers an opportunity to optimize the lives of our residents and others," said Sara Terry, vice president of Optimum Life® for Brookdale Senior Living. "By offering expert advice at these symposiums, we are working together to provide education and opportunities for older adults to start practicing brain fitness, and reap its benefits."
Cross Train Your Brain symposiums will tap into the expertise of area medical professionals. Breakout sessions will include topics such as brain foods, the importance of sleep for brain health, creativity as a means of challenging the mind, demonstrations of tai chi and more.
In addition, Dakim, Inc., the Brain Fitness Company, will be hosting hands-on demonstrations of its Dakim® BrainFitness™ System at many of the events. The System is a tool designed specifically to help seniors maintain mental acuity through proprietary brain-building activities presented in a game show-like format.
Cross Train Your Brain Symposiums will be held at the following:
- Dallas/Fort Worth – Wednesday, April 22
- Jacksonville, Fla. – Wednesday, April 29
- Los Angeles – Tuesday, May 12
- Chicago – Tuesday, June 23
- Kansas City, Kan. – Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Raleigh, N.C. – Wednesday, Sept.
Click here for more information and to register for symposiums
Back to Press Room
|
|
|
Contact: Matt Fontana , Vice President, Creative Marketing & Public Relations , 615-564-8145,
mfontana@brookdaleliving.com
|
|
|