WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC) of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Special Olympics of North Carolina have collaborated to sponsor a conference to address issues affecting developmentally disabled individuals and the challenges they face living in mainstream society.
The conference, “Developmental Disabilities through the Lifespan”, will be held on Oct. 30, 2009, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Winston-Salem. This event is also supported by the North Carolina AHEC Program, Amos Cottage, CenterPoint Human Services, The Special Children’s School and J Iverson Riddle Developmental Center in Morganton.
The conference will feature two keynote speakers, Timothy P. Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, and Derrick Dufresne, founder and senior partner of Community Resource Alliance (CRA). CRA is a training and management consultation firm that provides the resources necessary to enable people who have disabilities, their friends, and their families to fully participate in and benefit from life within their communities.
Entertainment will be provided by Chris Burke with Joe and John DeMasi. Burke is best known for his role as Charles “Corky” Thatcher on the hit ABC-TV show “Life Goes On” and his reoccurring role as Taylor on the hit CBS-TV show “Touched By An Angel.”
This conference is recommended for health care professionals including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, allied and mental and public health professionals, as well as parents, caregivers, consumers and anyone with an interest in the developmentally disabled. To register, go to www.northwestahec.org.
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Media contact: Jennifer Casey, Northwest AHEC, jencasey@wfubmc.edu, (336) 713-7705; Lisa Davanzo, ldavanzo@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-6906; or Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (www.wfubmc.edu) is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Brenner Children’s Hospital, Wake Forest University Physicians, and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine and Piedmont Triad Research Park. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and has been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report since 1993. Wake Forest Baptist is ranked 32nd in the nation by America’s Top Doctors for the number of its doctors considered best by their peers. The institution ranks in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health and fourth in the Southeast in revenues from its licensed intellectual property.
Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is an educational outreach and training program designed to enhance the health of the public in its 17-county region by improving the supply, distribution, and quality of health and human service personnel--especially in primary care—through diverse community/academic partnerships.