Registration - Event View
This is the "Event Detail" view, showing all available information for this event.
If registration is required or recommended, click the 'Register Now' button to start the process.
If the event has passed, click the "Event Report" button to read a report and view photos that were uploaded.
Brain Health Clinic: Cardiovascular Health & Nutrition
Brain Health Clinic: Cardiovascular Health & Nutrition
Date: Thursday, September 18th
Time: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Resilient Living Center
Facilitators: Erica DeFrancesco & Kate Keefe
Cost: FREE
Designed for: This offering is designed for individuals from the community who are interested in learning about dementia prevention or individuals experiencing cognitive change who are interested in learning about how to impact the pace of symptom progression. Family members of residents are welcome to come!
Open to: Individuals from the community with or without cognitive decline, family members of residents
REGISTER Back to Full Schedule
Program Description:
What's good for your heart is good for your brain! In this clinic you'll have the opportunity to work with Occupational Therapists to assess your risk of dementia and learn about interventions that will help you prevent dementia or impact the pace of cognitive decline.
In this program, you will:
- Explore how modifying your nutrition can improve your brain health
- Understand how lifestyle impacts your heart and brain health
- Learn about how your brain health and your heart health are connected
Facilitator Biography
Erica DeFrancesco MA, OTD/L| Director of Community Education
Erica demonstrates her career long passion and excitement for collaborating and supporting older adults in every project she is involved in. As a master’s level occupational therapist and former professor of occupational therapy at Quinnipiac University, Erica creates innovative compensatory strategies to continually identify and respond to each individual’s learning strengths. As a pioneer member of The LiveWell Institute, and Director of Community Education, she facilitates and mentors other professionals for Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), designs educational opportunities and partnerships for community awareness regarding dementia, champions Dementia Friendly communities and leads the developing LiveWell initiative, The Empowering Partnerships Network.
Erica is a foodie, an avid reader, and lives with her husband and daughter.
Kate Keefe OTD, OTR/L| Wellbeing Director of Healthy Lifestyle Innovation
Kate Keefe, OTD, OTR/L, Therapy Practice Lead at LiveWell has over 24 years of experience working with persons living with cognitive change related to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. As an occupational therapy practitioner, Kate focuses on discovering the retained abilities of persons living with cognitive change and teaching care partners how to adapt the environment and communication to support their loved one’s best ability to function.
Kate recognizes the stressors associated with being in the role of care partner. As an OT (Occupational Therapist), she builds awareness with care partners to support their own health and wellbeing by making slight changes to practice self-care and use various stress management techniques.
Kate studied and received her Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) 200-hundred-hour certification in 2007. She has facilitated many yoga classes over the years to support adults and seniors as they explored self-care practices to promote healthy postural alignment, safe movement, and deep relaxation through use of yoga breathing techniques and spiritual exploration.