The Memory Clinic was founded in 1996 when Dr. Ziad Nasreddine joined Neuro Rive-Sud, a center offering specialized services in neurology for over 30 years. Devoted and determined to develop novel methods to improve the accuracy of the Alzheimer disease diagnosis, Dr. Nasreddine created, in 1996, a screening instrument called the MoCA, facilitating the detection
of at-risk patients. The MoCA was then validated thanks to the help of several collaborators. It is now available in 55 languages and dialects and is utilized in 126 countries worldwide.
The Memory Clinic, which was renamed the MoCA Clinic & Institute in 2015, became an official registered charity in July of 2014: CEDRA (Center for Diagnosis & Research on Alzheimer’s Disease). Our mission is composed for four intervention modules: diagnosis, research, support and information.
The MoCA Clinic & Institute is expanding and presently composed of 4 neurologists, 2 neuropsychologists, a nurse case manager (Sylvie Blaquière), two cognitive evaluation technicians (Martine Lafontaine and Élisabeth Lombo), a project manager (Rima Nasreddine) and an administration team : head accountant Rachelle Gaulin, medical secretary Valérie Ko-Kuong, receptionist Joana Okyère-Krieger. In September 2015, three geriatricians will be joining the team. To this day, the Memory Clinic greets over 700 new patients and follows over 1000 patients yearly.
Dr. Nasreddine also participates in multiple Alzheimer-related studies with his research team, which comprises a clinical research nurse manager (Lynn-Marie Laprade), five nurses (Vicky Laperle, Christine De Melo, Sylvie Blaquière, Korine Leblond and Julie Guillet), two coordinators (Stéphanie Despa and Christina Bélanger). The team is dedicated to supporting research efforts in the hopes to discover effective treatments, enabling patients to maintain or restore their autonomy and cognitive capacities and helping them preserve a healthy lifestyle.
The MoCA Clinic & Institute has emerged the Alzheimer.tv project, a project consisting of news bulletins that cover scientific updates on Alzheimer’s disease. The production team is composed of two journalists/researchers (Harneet-Kaur Singh and Florence Tison), a production manager (Martin Bouffard) and two communication coordinators (Jessica Paré and Patrice Spencer).