SLR Recognized For 
Alzheimer’s Disease Information Program

BOSTON, MA; January 13, 2014 – Senior Living Residences (SLR), has been at the forefront of developing and providing innovative Alzheimer’s care for 20 years throughout New England. The company’s leadership around Alzheimer’s includes a passion for increasing the public’s understanding of the disease, helping individual families and those living with Alzheimer’s by providing thoughtful advice for family caregivers, and promoting prevention of the disease through brain healthy nutrition.

SLR was recently recognized for these efforts as part of the 20th annual National Health Information Awards℠. The Boston-based senior living company won a Bronze Award in the Health Promotion/Disease & Injury Prevention Information Category for their Alzheimer’s disease Information Program.

“We are incredibly passionate about our residents, and we value their quality of life most,” says Robert Larkin, President of Senior Living Residences. “It is that underlying value as well as our commitment to innovation that prompted us to launch a health information campaign as robust as this one.”

SLR’s extensive Alzheimer’s health information campaign includes traditional, digital and grassroots efforts to connect with the general public. Some of the most well known components include AlzCareBlog.com, an article archive resource for families and caregivers with information on all facets of Alzheimer’s care including caregiving, research, fitness, legal and financial issues and Caregiver wellness; BrainHealthyCooking.com, a web-based cooking guide which offers consumers research-based nutrition advice and recipes, and SeniorLivingResidences.com, the organization’s website which provides general educational information on Alzheimer’s.

Other components of the health information campaign include vast social media and publicity efforts, sponsorship and presentations at regional Alzheimer’s conferences for the general public and elder care professionals, support groups, and volunteering for the local Alzheimer’s Association Hotline.

Senior Living Residences also advances the public’s knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease by conducting its own presentations for the general public, including Brain Healthy Cooking presentations at senior centers and conducting CEU-approved (continuing education credit) classes for registered social workers and nurses.

“We are very pleased to be recognized for our efforts in promoting education and understanding of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Tadd Clelland, Partner at Senior Living Residences, “but the battle is so much bigger than this”. Clelland, who launched the company’s Compass Memory Support Neighborhood® Program, a distinctive and highly regarded Alzheimer’s care assisted living concept, also added “The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is growing so rapidly and we know so little about it. It wasn’t that long ago that Alzheimer’s was considered a psychological disease and those afflicted were institutionalized. Sometimes we still fight that stigma. Now, 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. More than 50% of residents living in assisted living have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. And those numbers are only going up.”

When asked what the goal of a health information campaign is for a for-profit company, Clelland adds, “We want to gain a better understanding of the disease so that we can better treat its symptoms and ultimately provide better care and a better quality of life for those who suffer with it. We encourage those interested in helping to participate in research. Our Compass Memory Support Neighborhoods® put forth the best effort to remain at the forefront of research-based care, especially for those with Alzheimer’s. There is a fantastic research program at the Boston University School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease Center that is always recruiting for new studies.”