{"id":3987,"date":"2025-12-03T21:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=3987"},"modified":"2026-07-15T21:10:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:10:47","slug":"aacwi-launches-major-dementia-outreach-effort-for-african-descent-communities-in-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2025\/12\/03\/aacwi-launches-major-dementia-outreach-effort-for-african-descent-communities-in-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"AACWI launches major Dementia outreach effort for African-descent communities in Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Friday, November 21, 2025, listeners of Radio KFAI 90.3FM\u2019s popular program The Conversation with Al McFarlane<\/em><\/a> heard a moving discussion about memory loss, caregiving and a new state-funded effort aimed at the Twin Cities\u2019 African-descent communities. \u201cThis grant comes at a critical time for our community,\u201d said Dr. Lolita King-Bethel<\/a>, assistant clinic director of the African American Child Wellness Institute<\/a>, as she described a two-year campaign funded by the Minnesota Board on Aging<\/a> to boost awareness, screening and culturally specific supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. King-Bethel framed the work with clarity and urgency as she started quickly addressing misconceptions around Dementia. \u201cDementia is the broader umbrella and Alzheimer\u2019s falls under that,\u201d she told host Al McFarlane and guest Dr. Oliver Williams<\/a>, carefully differentiating terms many listeners use interchangeably. \u201cAlzheimer\u2019s often impacts the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores memory. With Alzheimer\u2019s you see short-term memory problems, and sometimes long-term memory problems too.\u201d Her informative explanations around moved the show from abstract anxiety into concrete, clinical terms that people could understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, which is funded at roughly $150,000 and is listed among Minnesota Board on Aging awards this fall, will combine media outreach, church-based screenings and follow-up referral pathways. \u201cWe are going to be increasing the awareness of dementia and its impact on the Black community,\u201d Dr. King-Bethel said. \u201cThis campaign will be for the next two years to increase awareness through media, through partnership with other avenues so that we can do one-on-one screenings and assessments that are culturally relevant and specific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listeners of McFarlane\u2019s popular educational segment got both practical and surprising details as Dr King-Bethel also said that the institute will bring a five-minute, picture-based screening called\u201d Five-Cog\u201d<\/em> into churches and mosques. \u201cWe have 11 churches committed to allowing us to come in and provide a really short screening to assess whether or not a person should be referred on for further testing,\u201d Dr. King-Bethel said. The screening is intentionally designed to avoid language bias and to work for elders who are not fluent in English, including African immigrant communities. \u201cThis is a culturally based assessment tool,\u201d she said. \u201cIt did very well in populations of color, particularly Black populations.\u201d The conversation balanced clinical explanation with warm, community-centered outreach. Dr. King-Bethel described an initiative she jokingly calls \u201ca wing and a prayer\u201d, she with a light laugh explained what this concept meant, while also underscoring its human touch.  \u201cWe are replicating that with our dementia awareness campaign to offer a mini presentation and then they get to go home with their chicken wings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show host Al McFarlane and Dr. Williams added personal testimonies that grounded the public-health message in lived experience. McFarlane described early, uneasy memories of an aunt who ended up \u201clocked away\u201d because family members did not understand what was happening. \u201cThey put her in a rocking chair, and she just rocked back and forth, and somehow I got a memory of her rocking herself out of the chair, falling forward on the floor, throwing up and dying,\u201d he said, with his voice low from that memory of his aunt, while Dr. Williams described his own family history of stroke-related dementia and the shock of \u201closing my father that I had before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the guests conversed, the show moved through risk, prevention and caregiving. Dr. King-Bethel emphasized that risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes and substance misuse are interconnected with stroke and vascular dementia. \u201cIf we know something runs in the family, younger generations can get ahead of that with improved diet, exercise and by staying away from excessive alcohol use,\u201d she advised. She urged listeners to take practical steps such as going to annual checkups with local health service providers, adhering to taking one\u2019s medicine where one has been prescribed medication and documenting concerns for primary care visits. \u201cWrite it down. Be as specific as you can,\u201d she said, referencing the reality that brief medical visits often miss nuance and that writing down these concerns does help provide that nuance. Caregivers, she also added, often bear enormous emotional burdens. \u201cSometimes they (caregivers) think the person is just being difficult, but it\u2019s the brain,\u201d she said. \u201cCaregivers need support and guidance. We will be doing hands-on support at AACWI and compiling a resource book with culturally specific caregivers and services in Minneapolis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The radio segment concluded with a clear call to action. \u201cGo to the African American Child Wellness Institute website<\/a>, get more information and find out if you are ready for an assessment,\u201d McFarlane urged listeners. Dr. King-Bethel promised partnerships with medical providers, memory-care facilities and local organizations to ensure screening leads to care. The board-funded initiative is explicit about one goal: preserve dignity and memory while building community knowledge and support.  The interview, which was posted as an episode of The Conversation<\/em>, underscores how targeted, culturally informed outreach can bridge stigma, clinical care and everyday compassion. \u201cWe owe it to our elders to do better,\u201d Dr. King-Bethel said. \u201cPreserve memory, preserve legacy, ensure our elders receive the care and dignity they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday, November 21, 2025, listeners of Radio KFAI 90.3FM\u2019s popular program The Conversation with Al McFarlane heard a moving discussion about memory loss, caregiving and a new state-funded effort aimed at the Twin Cities\u2019 African-descent communities. \u201cThis grant comes at a critical time for our community,\u201d said Dr. Lolita King-Bethel, assistant clinic director of the African American Child Wellness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2588,2589,29,32],"class_list":["post-3987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-dr-lolita-king-bethel","tag-dr-oliver-williams","tag-minnesota","tag-twin-cities","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Insight-News-Website-Images-10-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3989,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987\/revisions\/3989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}