HERE.

WE ARE REALLY BRITISHIATE IT.

TODAY IN AMERICA SOME FIVE

MILLION PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S

BUT AS MORE BABY BOOMERS BECOME

SENIORS THE NUMBERS ARE EXPECTED

TO CLIMB TO ROUGHLY SIXTEEN

MILLION BY 2015.

WILL PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS BE

PREPARED TO HANDLE THE GROWING

NUMBER OF CASES?

A PROGRAM IN NORTHWESTERN

UNIVERSITY HAS AN UNUSUAL

APPROACH TO EQUIP THE NEXT

GENERATION OF PHYSICIANS.

JAY SHEFSKY HAS MORE.

>> Reporter: GEORGE BALCH IS IF

THE WHAT YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU

THINK OF AN ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT.

I WANT TO THANK YOU FORGETTING

THIS BOOK FOR ME.

THIS IS THE SECOND ONE IN THIS

SERIES.

>> Reporter: GEORGE HAS DONE A

LOT IN HIS LIFE, A POLITICAL

SCIENCE PROFESSOR AN ADVERTISING

EXECUTIVE AND A PUBLIC HEALTH

CONSULTANT AND HE IS STILL AN

AVOID RUNNER.

ABOUT A YEAR AGO GEORGE WAS

DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER'S.

>> I KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS

WRONG.

I WAS WORKING ON ONE OF MY

PROJECTS, BUT ALL THESE PAGES.

AND WAIT A MINUTE, DID I SEE

THAT AGAIN.

THIS ONE, WAIT A MINUTE, THAT

WAS OVER THERE.

I WAS REALLY FRUSTRATED.

SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.

I CAN'T DO THIS.

AND I CAN'T HAVE THIS GO OUT

WITH MY NAME ON IT.

AND A FEW MONTHS AFTER HIS

DIAGNOSIS, GEORGE TOOK ON

ANOTHER HEALTH RELATED PROJECT.

>> ERIC, WELCOME!

GEORGE'S NEW PROJECT IS TO TEACH

A YOUNG MEDICAL STUDENT ABOUT

ALZHEIMER'S.

>> ALL RIGHT, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE

THE ONES HERE.

ERIC IS A FIRST YEAR MEDICAL

STUDENT AT NORTH WESTERN'S

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.

HE AND GEORGE SPEND FOUR HOURS

TOGETHER EACH MONTH AND GO TO

MUSEUMS AND RESTAURANTS AND

COFFEE SHOPS, AND SOMETIMES THEY

JUST SIT AND CHAT.

>> RUNNING HASN'T BEEN AS BAD AS

I FEARED IT WOULD BE.

THIS MORNING...

>> Reporter: THEIR CONVERSATIONS

RANGE FROM POLITICS TO RUNNING

TO PUBLIC HEALTH.

BUT THE REASON THEY ARE TOGETHER

IS FOR ERIC TO LEARN ABOUT

ALZHEIMER'S BY GETTING TO KNOW

SOMEONE WITH THE DISEASE.

>> AND HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?

>> Reporter: THEY CAME TOGETHER

AS PART OF THE BUDDY'S PROGRAM.

RUN BY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

COGNITIVE NEUROLOGY AND

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE CENTER.

A PROFESSOR AT THE CENTER AND

CREATED THE PROGRAM IN 1997.

SHE SAYS IT IS MEANT TO

SUPPLEMENT THEIR MORE SCIENCIVIC

STUDY.

THEY WILL LEARN ABOUT THE FACTS

OF THE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN

THEIR TEXTBOOKS AND REALLY

MAKING ROUNDS IN THE HOSPITALS

AND IN THE OUT PATIENT CLINICS

AND THEY WILL SEE PATIENTS WITH

THE DISEASE.

WHAT THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDING

IS A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE,

AND THAT IS NOT CLINICAL AT ALL.

>> I FORGOT TO ASK YOU THIS?

I VAGUELY REMEMBER, VAGUELY IS

THE ONLY WAY I CAN DO IT, DO YOU

SEE ANOTHER WORD?

>> THEY ARE THERE TO LEARN.

AND DEVELOP A FRIENDSHIP OVER

THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.

ERIC SAYS FROM THE MOMENT THEY

MET, HIS IMAGE OF ALZHEIMER'S

WAS SHAKEN.

>> I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST

LESSONS I LEARNED IS THAT PEOPLE

WITH ALZHEIMER'S HAVE A LOT TO

OFFER STILL.

I HAD THE PRECONCEPTION THAT HE

WOULDN'T BE SO HIGH FUNCTIONING.

I HAD STEREOTYPED IT.

>> HE ACTUALLY FOR QUITE A WHILE

WITHDREW FROM SOCIAL INTERACTION

AND DIDN'T WANT TO SEE HIS OLD

FRIENDS, HE WAS AFRAID HE

WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CARRY ON A

GOOD CONVERSATION.

WHEN WE GOT INVOLVED WITH

NORTHWESTERN AND WE GOT INVOLVED

WITH THE BUDDY PROGRAM IT MADE A

BIG DIFFERENCE.

AND SHE SAYS HER HUSBAND HAS

IMBRACED THIS NEW PROJECT.

HE'S A BORN TEACHER.

AND MEANTOR.

BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH SOMEBODY

AND FEEL LOOK HE WAS TEACHING

THEM SOMETHING, EVEN AT THIS

POINT IN HIS LIVE WAS IMPORTANT.

ERIC SAYS WHILE MANCHESTER OF

WHAT HE LEARNED COMES FROM BEING

WITH GEORGE, GEORGE ALSO OFFERS

GUIDANCE TO HOW TO BE WITH

SOMEONE WITH ALZHEIMER'S.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD THINK OH MY

GOD MY LIFE IS ALL OVER.

I WISH I COULD DO IT.

BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT

YOU CAN DO.

GEORGE'S APPROACH TO THE DISEASE

HAS BEEN REMARKABLY POSITIVE,

AND PRACTICAL.

YOU KNOWS HIS SYMPTOMS WILL

PROGRESS.

BUT HE IS DETERMINED TO MAKE A

CONTRIBUTION FOR ADMINISTRATION

HE CAN.

FOR "CHICAGO TONIGHT", THIS IS

JAY SHEFSKY.

>>> ON OUR WEBSITE YOU CAN FIND

OUT MORE ABOUT THE BUDDY

PROGRAM, AND READ AN INTERVIEW