Principal Investigator: Lorin Alving, M.D.
Medical Director: Alex C. Sherriffs, M.D., C.A.Q.G.
The UCSF Fresno ARCC was established in
1989. The Center serves the central San
Joaquin Valley from Modesto to Bakersfield, and extends its reach to the Central
Coastal region of San Luis Obispo County, an area in excess of 33,000 square
miles (serving Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Louis Obispo,
Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties). Staff at the Center have been
particularly effective in reaching the diverse ethnic and cultural communities
of the Valley, with forty percent of its patients drawn from ethnic minorities.
Within the context of a Center of Excellence, the ultimate mission of the Fresno
Center is to make a positive difference in the state of health of people with
dementia and in the lives of their families. Utilizing the highly successful
multidisciplinary approach, the Center’s team provides state-of-the-art
diagnostic and treatment services to patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other
dementias, and extends resource referral and support services to family
caregivers.
Research into and education about Alzheimer’s and related dementias completes the
Center’s mission. Research interests include diagnosis of early-stage dementia,
including the roles of ethnicity and co-morbidity, factors influencing patient
and caregiver compliance with recommendations, and the neuropathology of the
dementias. In its role as one of the Alzheimer’s Research Centers of California
(ARCC), the Center will focus on the translation of research findings to
clinical practice in long-term care.
The program has been successful in extending outreach to the many small rural
communities of the San Joaquin Valley, enhancing the quality of care in the
region through the training and education of long-term care professionals. Since
its inception, the Center has provided a rich educational experience for
residents through its affiliation with both the Family and Community Medicine
and the Psychiatry Departments of the Fresno Medical Education Program. Also,
medical students regularly spend time at the Center, often completing Community
Medicine projects there. Staff at the Alzheimer’s Center work closely
with the Gerontology Department of California State University, Fresno in the
development and teaching of classes related to dementia care.
Alzheimer's Disease
Program
Mail Station 7210
Post Office Box 997413
Sacramento, CA 95899-7413
Phone (916) 552-8995
Fax (916) 552-9910
Internet: www.dhs.ca.gov/Alzheimers
