A $3 million dementia and Alzheimer's disease center that specifically cares for Hispanics opened in Milwaukee on Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The center, which is designed to resemble a Mexican or Puerto Rican village to comfort patients, will serve as a research facility and offer various programs and services targeted at Hispanics. It is located in the United Community Center, which partnered with the Medical College of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison and the Alzheimer's Association to develop the center and its programs. Various public and private sources are funding the facility. Hispanics are considered to have a high risk for Alzheimer's, but little research studying the group and Alzheimer's is available, according to Tom Hlavacek, executive director of the southeast Wisconsin chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. In addition, many Hispanics do not seek treatment for Alzheimer's or dementia because of language barriers or cultural issues, Stephanie Stein, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Aging, said. She added, "This is the only place in the country designed to serve elderly Hispanics that's been specifically built in a community setting and not in a health care institution or clinic. Here, there's no stigma. It's a place to turn to for help. It will be a huge new resource" (Pabst, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/29).