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Edmund O’Meally, Member, PK Law and Dawn O’Meally, owner of The Counseling Center for Change, behind effort to provide resources and guidance to families impacted by disease


Edmund J. O’Meally, Member, Pessin Katz Law, P.A. (PK Law)

Edmund J. O’Meally, Member, Pessin Katz Law, P.A. (PK Law) understands on a firsthand basis the devastating toll that Alzheimer’s impacts on the individual, family members and the support group given his mother’s diagnosis with the disease nearly ten years ago. Together with his wife Dawn, a mental health professional, the couple is spearheading a series of educational seminars to help local individuals cope with and make informed decisions related to the disease, as well as organizing a fundraiser for the local Alzheimer’s chapter to assist with the organization’s outreach, services and research efforts. More than 110,000 people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the Maryland area.

“Like many diseases that cause cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s takes a tremendous toll on both the individual and those around them, and negatively impacts every aspect of everyday life,” explained Edmund O’Meally. “For the past decade, I have had a front row seat of the daily decisions that need to be made to keep a person inflicted with this disease comfortable and safe and, given my career as an attorney, I have become attuned to the long-term impact of Alzheimer’s on an individual’s financial and living arrangements.”

Dawn O’Meally, owner of The Counseling Center for Change in Westminster, a practice that offers mental health therapy to individuals and couples, also brings a professional perspective to the activities and goals of the initiatives given her more than 30 years of experience working in the health industry. The Center employs three licensed professional therapists that work with teenagers and adults throughout the central Maryland region. Last month, The Counseling Center for Change, in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Maryland, hosted an educational seminar entitled “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia.”

On April 16, PK Law will host an event in their Towson office’s new PK Law Learning Center that will address estate planning issues for individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer’s, with the program led by Kevin F. Bress, Member, PK Law. The seminar is the latest in a continuing series of programming hosted by PK Law that targets Estate Planning and Elder Law issues.


Kevin F. Bress, Member, PK Law

On May 19, the O’Meally’s are hosting the “Forget Me Not Gala” at Antrim 1844 in Taneytown, a fundraising event targeted to help support the disease research and educational efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Maryland. In addition to entertainment programming, presentations will be delivered by Dr. Cynthia Fields, a psychiatrist with Good Samaritan Hospital and Steven Lockard, the superintendent for the Carroll County Public Schools. Lockard’s father, Brian, passed away from complications of the disease in 2017.

“Dawn and I are passionate about providing resources and guidance to individuals and their families that feel the tremendous toll of Alzheimer’s,” said Edmund O’Meally. “As with many things in life, when faced with new challenges you begin to navigate paths and gather a tremendous amount of research and understanding on a particular issue. We are compelled to do everything we can to impart to others what we have learned about coping with Alzheimer’s. Both of our professions have assisted us in this course and we hope people will take advantage of these programs to help minimize the learning curve.”

Pessin Katz Law, P.A. (PK Law) is the ninth largest law firm in the Baltimore area and has been serving clients for thirty years. PK Law maintains full-service offices in Towson, Columbia, and Bel Air and is comprised of more than 50 lawyers, paralegals and law clerks. Practice areas include corporate law, real estate, zoning, education law, estate planning, elder law, labor and employment, litigation, insurance law and medical malpractice defense. For additional information, visit www.PKLaw.com.

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