On Monday a free educational conference about dementia was held at Mohawk Valley Community College in Rome.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America hosted the event, along with Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and state Sen. Joseph Griffo. The conference was meant to give people a better understanding of dementia-related illnesses, and teach them how to talk about those illnesses with family and friends.

There were also free, confidential memory screenings at the event.

“Most importantly when we're talking about how to talk the talk about dementia, we want to make sure that a family member or a friend or community member is having open conversations regularly about brain health and wellness, which is why we love to do these national memory screenings like we’re doing here today,” said Molly Fogel, director of educational and social services at Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America estimated that more than 400,000 people in New York State are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease.