Alzheimer’s disease will be the in the spotlight Friday at South Central Place for the hospital’s Caregiver’s Support Group Community Education Day.

Donna Jones of South Regional Medical Center said the support group meets at 10 a.m. the first Friday of every month, but since November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, they expanded the focus to include the community.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive and fatal brain disease that affects as many as 5.3 million Americans. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the disease is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.

Kathy Van Cleave, director of the Alzheimer’s Division of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, will serve as keynote speaker for the event, which is free to the public.

Van Cleave will host an informative workshop that includes a feature video presentation of author Joanne Koenig Coste’s book, “Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s.”

By phone, Van Cleave, who has an office at the Boswell Regional Center in Magee, said the talk will focus on an habilitative approach to Alzheimer’s.

“It talks about looking at an individual’s strengths and developing approaches according to those strengths, rather than focusing on a person’s deficits,” she said. “You get so caught up in the deficits that you lose sight of the strengths.”

Van Cleave said that by focusing on the strengths, it “ultimately helps the individual maintain their dignity and gives them a higher quality of life for a longer period of time.”

Van Cleave said the event will provide information for anyone affected by Alzheimer’s disease, including at-home caregivers and nursing facilities.

“The tenants can be used in any setting,” she said. “If you’re at all affected by this or think you might be, it’s worth coming to.”

Van Cleave said Alzheimer’s is something that more and more Mississippians and Americans have to deal with, including 52,000 in the state and more than 5.3 million nationwide.

“According to the 2000 census data, about 14 percent of Jones County residents over 65 have Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia,” she said. “It might even be higher than that.”

Van Cleave said the event will feature a combination of PowerPoint, lecture and video with each participant receiving handouts to reinforce the principles taught.

Laurel Mayor Melvin Mack, who will be issuing a proclamation Friday, encouraged the public to attend.

“This is something wonderful to have because, believe it or not, there are a lot of cases of Alzheimer’s right here in Laurel and Jones County,” he said. “This is a much needed event that I plan to attend. I’m glad the hospital is sponsoring it.”