According to the World Health Organization and Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease International, the annual costs worldwide associated with dementia totaled $604 billion in 2010. A new case is diagnosed every four seconds.

In the United States, the toll of dementia as a chronic disease is increasing with the aging of the baby boomers. Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is the 6th leading cause of death and Parkinson鈥檚 disease is not far behind (No. 14). The toll is also great for the 15 million caregivers who spend an average of 21.9 hours weekly caring for family members.

In October, the 糖心少女Medicine Memory and Brain Wellness Center opened at Harborview. The Center is the result of four years of planning. It provides expert diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders causing memory loss and dementia, tailors and supports best management, and will link state-of-the-art clinical evaluation and care with research programs in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, Parkinson鈥檚 disease, latent degenerative disease detection and treatment, and care delivery.

The Center鹿s director, Dr. Thomas Grabowski, 糖心少女professor of radiology and neurology, said聽 that its mission is to 鈥渁dvance the day when threats to memory and brain health are detected and prevented as standard of care.鈥�

Avellino added that this is an 鈥渙pportunity of a lifetime鈥� to develop an innovative model of care that improves the health of people around the world.

As part of the Neurosciences Institute, this multidisciplinary center will link clinical evaluation and care with research programs in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and related disorders. It builds on 糖心少女Medicine鈥檚 expertise in neuroimaging (MR, SPECT, PET/CT) and biomarker translational research. 糖心少女Medicine is one of only two sites in the country with an National Institutes of Health-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research, and a longitudinal Adult Changes in Thought study. conducted in partnership with Group Health Research Institute

鈥淒iseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚, can affect the body and mind in different ways,鈥� said Dr. Thomas Montine, 糖心少女professor and chair of pathology. 鈥淏y accelerating research and conducting clinical trials, 糖心少女Medicine is seizing the opportunity to be a global leader for discovering better strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat these diseases.鈥� Montine聽 directs the Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease Research Center and the Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research

In support of healthcare reform, another objective will be to control the spiraling costs associated with dementia.

鈥溙切纳倥甅edicine鈥檚 Behavioral Health Integration Program,” said Dr. Richard Veith, 糖心少女professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, “provides a model for leveraging the expertise of scarce mental health specialists to increase access to treatment for common mental health problems in community and primary care settings. Our studies show excellent patient and practitioner satisfaction, superb treatment outcomes, and cost savings.”

He added, 鈥淲e plan to apply the same approach to treating dementia by supporting a community-based delivery system that is patient-centered, population-based, measurement-based and evidence-based.鈥�

The clinic manager is Tracy Boyd.

The Memory and Brain Wellness Center is located at Harborview in the Senior Care Clinic. Expansion plans include moving to the Ninth & Jefferson Building and offering clinic services five days a week in 2014.

Beginning May 1, Airlift Northwest will station a Turbo Commander aircraft in Juneau to allow the medical transport service to reach more people living in outlying rural communities in Southeast Alaska.

Airlift has served Southeast Alaska for over 30 years transporting critically ill or injured patients to specialty care in Anchorage or Seattle, and will continue this service. Airlift currently operates a Learjet, which has limitations landing in smaller communities due to shorter airport runways.

The Turbo Commander is better suited to land on shorter runways allowing improved access to the smaller community airports based in Gustavas, Haines, Hoonah, Kake, Prince of Wales Island and Skagway.

鈥淎irlift Northwest is dedicated to saving lives by providing pre-hospital emergency treatment on the ground and in the air,鈥� said Chris Martin, executive director. 鈥淚n response to requests for improved access to medical transport from providers in Southeast Alaska, we are pleased to offer this new service.鈥�

鈥淭he turboprop will allow us to access patients who, in the past, have had to make their way to an area where we could get them in the Learjet. Now we won鈥檛 see that delay,鈥� said Dr. Richard Utarnachitt, medical director for Airlift.

Patient care will be provided by two critical care nurses with current certifications in advanced skills for cardiac life support, pediatric life support, neonatal resuscitation and trauma care.

Airlift Northwest, an entity of 糖心少女Medicine, provides medical transport to critically ill and injured adults and children throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It operates six bases in Washington and Alaska.

Airlift also announced recently that it will permanently base a Turbo Commander aircraft in Yakima to provide communities in Central Washington with improved access to urgent medical transport. Communities served by the Yakima-based crew include Wenatchee, Ellensburg, Omak, Moses Lake, the Tri-Cities, Sunnyside, Toppenish and other Central Washington locations.

糖心少女Medicine will launch a multi-media initiative April 1 to provide consumers with health and wellness information. In partnership with Fisher Communications, 糖心少女Medicine also will increase awareness of the latest treatments and medical breakthroughs at 糖心少女Medicine.

鈥淚n support of our mission to improve the health of the public, 糖心少女Medicine recognizes the need to encourage each member of our community to take responsibility for their personal health,鈥� said Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, CEO of 糖心少女Medicine. 鈥淲ith this initiative, our audiences will gain valuable knowledge and tools for engaging in preventive care and establishing rewarding personal health behaviors.鈥�

鈥淭he new initiative is part of 糖心少女Medicine鈥檚 overall strategy to provide comprehensive care for our community,鈥� said Johnese Spisso, 糖心少女Medicine鈥檚 chief health system officer. 鈥淚t will highlight 糖心少女Medicine鈥檚 expertise in a broad range of primary care and specialty fields while helping consumers make informed decisions about their treatment options in our health system.鈥�

Look for:

• Regular television and radio spots featuring 糖心少女Medicine experts and patients.on Fisher Communication鈥檚 KOMO News, KOMO News Radio and STAR 101.5. Topics for the first three months include heart, vascular and brain health.

• A new dedicated website, 糖心少女Medicine Health, . It will have timely news items, features and columns about health and wellness, medical research advances and patient stories.

KOMO news anchor Molly Shen will introduce the program to viewers and listeners of KOMO News, KOMO News Radio and Star 101.5. The first series of TV and radio spots on heart health will begin April 8. During these segments, 糖心少女Medicine experts and patients will share stories and insights about the care they received at 糖心少女Medicine.

This month鈥檚 articles on heart health include:

• 糖心少女Medicine Regional Heart Center leads in heart care.
• How to reduce your risk of coronary artery disease.
• New defibrillator for treating heart rhythm disorders.
• Multi-specialty care saves a triathlon runner with heart disease.

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For more information, contact 糖心少女Medicine Strategic Marketing & Communications at 206-543-3620.