Cedars-Sinai announced a $10 million gift to establish the Bernard and Maxine Platzer Lynn Family Memory and Healthy Aging Program in the Department of Neurology on March 25. The program will broaden the scope of age-related care at Cedars-Sinai with a focus on healthy aging, patient independence, care coordination, and brain health.
“This new program will reimagine and reshape aging and age-related conditions at Cedars-Sinai,” said Zaldy Tan, M.D., a prominent memory and geriatric medicine specialist and director of the Bernard and Maxine Platzer Lynn Family Memory and Healthy Aging Program. “Our hope, made possible by this generous gift, is to discover ways to promote aging with independence, grace and dignity for all.”
Under Tan’s leadership, the donation from philanthropist Maxine Platzer Lynn will help develop a long-term preventive care strategy to promote healthy aging in patients 40 and older, care coordination and navigation for older patients, and a brain health program for patients with family histories or risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. The Bernard and Maxine Platzer Lynn Family Memory and Healthy Aging Program will complement the existing Memory and Aging Program in the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders, established in 2020.
“This investment by the Lynn family will support our urgent need to address healthy aging and provide resources for patients to navigate an increasingly complex medical system,” said Nancy Sicotte, M.D., Chair of the Department of Neurology and the Women’s Guild Distinguished Chair in Neurology and the Women’s Guild Distinguished Chair in Neurology. “Our collaborative care program will advance the long tradition of excellence in clinical care at Cedars-Sinai and establish a path for patients to access the best care to live their best lives.”
The program will serve as a national model for exceptional care, especially as the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to exceed 70 million in 2030. The program also provides care and support to patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Today, more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050, Alzheimer’s patients are expected to number nearly 13 million, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Philanthropic gifts like this allow Cedars-Sinai academic physicians and researchers to explore novel ways to tackle daunting medical and societal challenges like Alzheimer’s,” said Tan, the Carmen and Louis Warschaw Chair in Neurology.
For the Lynn family, the donation is an opportunity to leave a legacy for generations to come.
“Knowing that thousands of people will benefit from this program means the world to me,” said Lynn, who is 93 and made the gift in honor of her late husband, Bernard. “My family and I want to leave a legacy that will impact others and advance Cedars-Sinai’s healthy aging initiatives for families and communities.”
