Meals on Wheels Rockwall County hosts webinar on dementia treatment

Texas ranks third in the nation for the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease, and most people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias are cared for in their homes. That makes a free Rockwall County webinar on dementia treatment a practical resource for families trying to keep a parent, spouse or neighbor safe and supported at home.

Meals on Wheels Senior Services of Rockwall County will host The New Advances in Dementia Treatment on Tuesday, June 24, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. CDT. The online session will be led by Becky Mahan, a pharmacist and associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, and it will be hosted by WellMed Caregiver Teleconnection with sponsorship from the North Central Texas Caregiver Teleconnection Program.

The program is open to family caregivers, healthcare professionals and community members interested in brain health. WellMed describes Caregiver Teleconnection as a no-cost, one-hour learning session that can be joined by phone, laptop or tablet, a format that fits Rockwall County families balancing work, school pickups, appointments and the daily demands of elder care. Event details say the webinar will cover the latest updates on dementia treatments and brain-health recommendations for all individuals.

The timing matters in a county where Meals on Wheels says its mission is to help elderly and disabled residents remain in their homes as long as possible through supportive services, nutritious meals and daily human contact. The organization also says it provides caregiver information and education, a need that grows sharper as dementia makes memory, thinking, communication and everyday functioning harder to manage.

Rockwall County also sits inside the North Central Texas Aging and Disability Resource Center service area, which connects residents to long-term service and support programs across the region. That broader network gives local caregivers an entry point when they need more than meals and check-ins, but still want help close to home.

Statewide, the pressure is severe. The Texas Department of State Health Services says Texas had about 460,000 residents age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s in 2020, and it ranks second in the nation for Alzheimer’s deaths. Against that backdrop, the June 24 webinar offers more than general awareness. It gives Rockwall County families a free hour of medically grounded guidance at a time when dementia care is increasingly happening at the kitchen table.