the torch Spring 2015, Issue 1 | Page 11

FEATURE AWARE Fund grant supports Baylor AT&T Memory Center W ith the opening of the recently expanded Baylor AT&T Memory Center, Baylor Scott & White Health is poised to provide a comprehensive program of clinical and support services for patients suffering from dementia and their families. In addition to providing care, the Memory Center is training the next generation of health care providers for this growing population. Thanks to a recent $25,000 grant from the AWARE Fund of The Dallas Foundation, the Memory Center will be able to add a doctoral-level neuropsychology intern to its team which will help to increase the number of patients served and reduce the wait time for a diagnosis. “It is a privilege for AWARE to provide support to Baylor’s AT&T Memory Center as a result of our first annual grant review process,” said Gail Plummer, president of AWARE. “AWARE is dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s disease by providing such support to the finest Dallas-area organizations that provide services, programs, education and resources to those suffering from A lzheimer’s, t heir c a regivers a nd families.” The new intern will receive highly specialized education from our neuropsychology team. This goes well beyond the traditional didactic lectures, and includes training in neuropsychological test interpretation and report writing, experience working in a multidisciplinary team setting, as well as supervision in learning how to explain this very technical information to patients and their families. In addition, the intern will also assist in meeting the needs of the rising population of patients with dementia and enable the clinic to begin conducting dementia research. At the Memory Center, it is routine for a neuropsychologist to spend at least a full Support of the Baylor AT&T Memory Center helps families like James and Betty Hostler. hour with each patient and family after testing to go over the results and explain what they mean. Patients and families receive feedback from a specialist who can discuss the implications of various findings on the test. Program enhancements and the expansion of the Memory Center have been made possible thanks to generous community support, including a lead gift from AT&T. These gifts total more than $3 million. For more information about the Baylor AT&T Memory Center, contact Tim Moore at 214.820.7877 or Timothy.Moore@ BaylorHealth.edu. 11