Baycrest and ZoomerMedia Limited Launch Strategic Co-Branding and Content Partnership

Partnership will offer a clinically-validated cognitive screening test for the "worried well" to do at home

Debuts special section about brain health on 50Plus.com

TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Baycrest and ZoomerMedia Limited have formed a new strategic co-branding and content partnership to inform and educate the public about the latest science on aging well, including brain health. Baycrest, a global leader in developing and providing innovations in aging and brain health, lost no time in tapping into ZoomerMedia's ability to reach Canada's "Zoomer" (45-plus) population. At the 2011 Zoomer Show last October, the partnership unveiled a prototype online self-assessment tool that enables aging adults to assess their thinking skills from the comfort and privacy of their home computer. The ultimate aim of the tool will be to indicate whether the individual is experiencing normal age-related cognitive problems or those possibly indicative of a more severe impairment, such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), that requires a visit to their doctor.

Adults experiencing memory problems often delay going to their family doctor because they are unsure whether they have a problem worth investigating. Even a couple of years' delay can waste precious time in catching a brain disease, such as Alzheimer's, at its earliest stage when treatments are most effective.

At the Zoomer Show, Baycrest surveyed consumer interest in the prototype online cognitive screening test. Results confirmed that a majority of people had known a friend or family member with dementia, were very concerned about their own risk of dementia, and would use a confidential online test that could indicate whether they should follow up with their doctor for a medical assessment of their cognitive health.

The cognitive screening tool is scheduled for a market launch in June and will be the first product available from Cogniciti Inc., a for-profit company created by Baycrest and MaRS, Canada's premier innovation centre. The self-administered assessment tool is informed by Baycrest's world-class cognitive science and will test the same areas of cognition, such as memory, attention and problem-solving skills, which a clinician would do with a patient. ZoomerMedia will play an important role in the promotion and distribution of the online test to Canada's 14.5 million Zoomers.

Last November, Baycrest and ZoomerMedia launched a second initiative - "Inside the Lab" - on ZoomerMedia's largest website, 50Plus.com. By drawing on Baycrest's robust library of expert articles on brain health, the latest research breakthroughs, and helpful clinical advice, the new section provides readers with all they need to know about the journey of aging and the best ways to ensure long-term wellness.

The opening lineup of articles includes: "How to get a whole brain workout", "Debunking brain myths: Does size matter?" and "Smart strategies to remember passwords and PINs". New articles will be added on a weekly basis.

"Both Baycrest and ZoomerMedia are committed to improving the health, well-being and autonomy of individuals as they age," said Moses Znaimer, Founder and CEO of ZoomerMedia Limited and President of CARP, the 350,000-member national non-profit organization committed to protecting the interests of Canadians as they age. "Our partnership is a union of two complementary organizations: one, a world-renowned expert in transforming the journey of aging, and the other, a leader in communicating up-to-the-minute information on that subject to the people who are keenest to know it."

"Baycrest is a world-class innovator and a trusted source of information on aging and brain health," said Anthony Melman, Chair of Baycrest's Board of Directors. "Partnering with ZoomerMedia gives Baycrest the opportunity to share knowledge with the influential, powerful and educated 45plus Zoomer population who want the very best information on strategies to improve their journey of aging."

ABOUT BAYCREST
Baycrest is a global leader in developing and providing innovations in aging and brain health. Headquartered on a 22-acre campus in Toronto and fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides care to more than 2,500 frail and active seniors every day in outpatient and inpatient programs and residential settings. Baycrest's Centre for Memory and Neurotherapeutics offers clinical and educational programs for memory, dementia and related disorders.

ABOUT ZOOMERMEDIA LIMITED
ZoomerMedia is a multimedia company that serves the 45plus "Zoomer" demographic through television, radio, magazine, internet and trade shows. ZoomerMedia's television properties include; Vision TV, Canada's only multi-faith specialty television service; ONE: the Body, Mind, Spirit and Love Channel, offering programs on exercise, meditation, yoga, natural health and living a planet-friendly lifestyle; Joytv 10 in Vancouver and Joytv 11 in Winnipeg, two over the air conventional stations, available over the air and on cable in their respective markets. ZoomerMedia's radio properties include CFMZ-FM Toronto - The New Classical 96.3FM, CFMX-FM Cobourg - The New Classical 103.1FM, Canada's only commercial classical music radio stations serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and eastern Ontario, and CFZM-AM 740 Toronto - The New AM740 Zoomer Radio, the last music service left on the AM dial in the GTA. ZoomerMedia also publishes Zoomer Magazine, the largest paid circulation magazine in Canada for the mature market. ZoomerMedia is Canada's leading provider of online content targeting the 45plus age group through many properties, the key one being www.50plus.com. ZoomerMedia also has a trade show division that conducts the "Zoomer Show", consumer shows directed to the 45plus age group and ideaCity, an annual Canadian conference also known as 'Canada's Premiere Meeting of the Minds'.

on this press release, please contact:

Leanne Wright
VP Communications
ZoomerMedia Limited
416.886.6873
[email protected]

Kelly Connelly
Senior Media Officer
Baycrest
416.785.2432
[email protected]