Founder and President of Alzheimer’s Care Armenia Dr. Jane Mahakian

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.,—Alzheimer’s Care Armenia successfully concluded an 8-week Memory Club Pilot Program for older adults with memory loss. The program was in partnership with Orran Benevolent NGO, Vanadzdor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Homeland Development Initiative Foundation. The 8-week class met for two hours every week at the Orran Center in Vanadzor, Armenia as a way to combat memory loss.

The goal of the Memory Club is to enhance the quality of their life by improving their cognitive functioning. Older adult participants focused on their cognitive abilities on a weekly basis, which help deter memory loss as they age. The Memory Club helps alleviate the problems associated with a rising population of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Alzheimer’s Care Armenia created the Memory Club to slow the progression of memory loss in the elderly. The project was led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineering students whose project was to incorporate the older adults’ childhood games into the Memory Club; to decrease anxiety and enhance the quality of their life by improving their overall cognitive functioning. The students researched popular Armenian childhood games and evaluated each game for cognitive benefits and assessed the results. Each participant was assessed by pre-test as well as post-test to assess their cognitive functioning as well as anxiety. The Memory Club was a success. The results revealed changes in their emotion, behavior, and mental state—which is expected to improve their cognitive function and continue to improve their quality of life.

Dr. Jane Mahakian, Founder and President of Alzheimer’s Care Armenia is a pioneer in bringing Alzheimer ’s disease sustainable programs and services to Armenia. Alzheimer’s Care Armenia was officially established in January 2017. It is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation registered in the State of California and a registered NGO in Armenia. A dedicated team of ACA supporters has come together to form the U.S. Board of Directors. The board members are Dr. Jane Mahakian, Executive Director, John D. Boyajian, Vice-President; Dr. Tatijana Novakovic-Agopian, Secretary, Manoog Kaprelian, Anna Arabyan, Pharm.D. Board Advisors include: Cynthia Tusan, Dr. Dana Walreth and Dr. Harold Takooshian. Ofelya Kamavosyan, Program Coordinator is based in Yerevan, Armenia.

Mount Ararat and the Yerevan skyline

Mahakian said “Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are increasing in Armenia. We need to educate people and help people move away from fear and into understanding this illness is long overdue. We need to provide education so we can change how people with this disease are treated.” Alzheimer’s Care Armenia is forging ahead and creating programs and services throughout Armenia for people with memory loss and their families. Alzheimer’s Care Armenia recently partnered with Silverado, a U.S. based memory care services corporation to provide a Dementia Certification Program to medical residents, psychologists and nurses at Yerevan State Medical University as well as at the National Institute for Health in Armenia.

What is Alzheimer’s Care Armenia?

The mission of Alzheimer’s Care Armenia is to raise awareness and offer solutions for care and treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease in Armenia. We accomplish this by creating sustainable programs and services for people with memory loss and also provide education and training to heath care professionals, medical students, and family caregivers and by working directly with Armenia’s institutions for the elderly.

Who is Dr. Jane?

Dr. Jane Mahakian is a gerontologist and expert in working with people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Dr. Jane has worked and advocated for over 30 years in the “realm of forgetfulness.” She is the Founder and President of Alzheimer’s Care Armenia, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered in the State of California and a registered NGO in Armenia. Dr. Jane is a professional speaker on Alzheimer’s disease and educates health care professionals and family caregivers world-wide.