Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Welcomes Delegates from Chicago Sister Cities International - Shanghai Social Services Exchange
On Tuesday, August 21, six delegates from the Chicago Sister Cities International - Shanghai Social Services Exchange visited Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Il as part of the 2018 Chicago-Shanghai Social Services Exchange. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital was chosen as one of only two hospitals to host the group of delegates for the afternoon because of Advocate's expertise and research on Alzheimer's disease and memory care. Shanghai has one of the fastest growing aging populations in the world and turned to its sister city - Chicago - and its hospitals to learn more and gather ideas about how to support and care for their aging population.
Team members and physicians from the Advocate Memory Center spoke to delegates about how they diagnose, treat, and care for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The senior medical director of the Advocate Memory Center, Dr. Darren Gitelman, Dr. Daniel Litoff and Dr. William Rhoades shared best practices with the delegation from Shanghai. These physicians, along with team members serving inpatient and outpatient populations, spoke about the care and services patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia receive across Advocate and in the community. Delegates learned about social services and support groups, inpatient care of geriatric patients, post-acute care, and outpatient services which included information on the innovative Expressions program and other Older Adult Day Services programs at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. Information was also provided by the Alzheimer's Association about their services.
"It was truly a privilege to host the delegates from Shanghai at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital," said Dr. Daniel Litoff, medical director of Advocate Medical Group at Halsted and Blackhawk and the visit lead. "We are honored to share our expertise with one of Chicago's sister cities and excited for the opportunity to learn about their best practices for caring for an aging population in Shanghai."
Shanghai and Chicago officially became Sister Cities in 1985. For over 30 years delegates from Shanghai have visited Chicago to discuss and learn about economic development, government, culture, fundraising, education, sports, and medicine. Delegates from Shanghai last came to Chicago in 2017 to attend the CSCI Social Services Exchange and Conference and delegates from Chicago visited Shanghai last October to learn best practices about Shanghai's aging policies and programs. In addition to visiting Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in August, delegates will tour and meet with other facilities and organizations that assist the elderly and those living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.