•February 11, 2026•

by DM Williamee

On Tuesday, February 3rd, the Mid-Illinois Senior Services hosted their monthly ‘Dine with a Doc.’ Their guest speaker was Jake Lehr, Senior Program Manager for the Central Illinois Alzheimer’s Association, Illinois Chapter. This highly engaging guest informed attendees about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, from early detection and warning signs, therapies, and other forms of support, to healthy brain habits. Lehr clarified that dementia is an umbrella term for loss of memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life, including the following: Alzheimer’s, vascular, Lewy body, frontotemporal, others, such as Huntington’s, and mixed dementia, which may have more than one cause. Lehr shared that everyone experiences Alzheimer’s differently and that Illinois is the first state in the nation to enact legislation mandating both state-regulated and private insurance plans to cover FDA-approved treatments, medications, and necessary diagnostic testing for Alzheimer’s disease. 

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