Susan Wehry, M.D., chief of geriatrics in UNE’s Division of Geriatrics, was among 200 people who recently attended a conference on geriatric health in Orono.
The theme of the conference was innovations in dementia care.
Wehry was interviewed by a reporter covering the conference for Bangor television station WVII.
Wehry told WVII her goal is to get people to think differently about dementia by helping them focus on the wellbeing of the person instead of the disease the person has.
“It creates opportunities for more hopefulness that until there is a cure for Alzheimer’s we’re going to find a way to help people live with it,” she said.
UNE has received a grant from the federal government worth approximately $750,000 a year for five years to transform the way physicians treat older adults.
UNE, the lead organization, in collaboration with the University of Maine, MaineHealth and several other health and community-based service organizations throughout the state will form AgingME, a collaborative approach to enhancing the health and well-being of Maine’s older adults.
