GRANADA HILLS : Hospital Receives Special Recognition

A team of specialists at Granada Hills Community Hospital will be honored by the Alzheimer’s Assn., the first time a San Fernando Valley hospital has received the group’s special recognition award.

The award, which was announced Wednesday, will honor the hospital’s Center for Aging Research and Evaluation (CARE). The ninth annual award will be presented at the association’s award luncheon Friday in Beverly Hills.

Peter Braun, executive director of the group’s Los Angeles chapter, said the hospital’s CARE unit is “the key link in providing care for Alzheimer’s patients and family members in the Valley.”

The Alzheimer’s Assn., which has 227 chapters nationwide, is the largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to researching the causes, prevention and cure of the disease. It also provides support to families of Alzheimer’s victims.

An estimated 150,000 people in Los Angeles County suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive dementia that ultimately leads to death, association leaders said.

The Granada Hills hospital and its CARE unit also are being recognized, Braun said, “for their special efforts in dealing with the care of the elderly in the North Valley following the earthquake.”

After the Jan. 17 Northridge temblor, the CARE team contacted its patients and families to determine if they needed assistance and offered emergency referral services to all elderly in the Valley.

The CARE team is made up of two neurologists, a geriatrician, a psychiatrist and several nurses and clerical staff.

Daily services, many of which are free, include initial assessment of dementia patients, as well as the CARE Club--a twice-weekly program featuring social interaction and exercise for early-stage patients. Four support groups help care-givers cope with their roles.

The CARE program is seeking patient volunteers for clinical trials with new medications in the hopes they will benefit those with Alzheimer’s disease. Volunteers receive free medical care and evaluation during the program.