The Center for Outreach in Alzheimer’s, Aging and Community Health (COAACH) cut the ribbon for its new facility Nov. 21, at 2105 Yanceyville St.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia in older populations, affecting more than 5 million, Americans including 150,000 North Carolinians. The center was made possible by a $1 million grant from Merck. It is working to promote the science and application of healthy aging through research, education, capacity building and empowerment.

The Biology Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at N.C. A&T is the research site for the first and the largest study of Alzheimer’s disease among African Americans. Dr. Goldie Byrd, professor of biology and dean of arts and sciences, is the principal investigator on the project.

The center provides services and learning opportunities like caregiver support groups, workshops and the annual Caregivers Education Conference, so more people living with Alzheimer’s may live their lives with quality, dignity and independence.

The center has three major functions: (1) Education and Awareness, to improve health and wellness literacy and increase awareness of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s for affected individuals and caregivers; (2) Family and Community Empowerment, to provide community outreach services that focus on educating cognitively impaired elders and their caregivers and promote advocacy for issues that support healthy aging; and (3) Research and Development, to create multi-disciplinary knowledge and scholarly expertise in aging, Alzheimer’s and community health, and to train the next generation of scientists and health care providers in aging-related research through formal academic programs.

For additional information about the center, its programming and events, visit the website at www.coaachhealth.org.

The end of the calendar year means more than holidays and time off for employees of North Carolina A&T State University. It is also the time employees should review their income tax status and sign up for electronic W-2 forms.

Tuesday, Dec. 23, is the last pay date of 2014 for monthly and biweekly employees. Be certain to review the address on the paycheck stub or direct deposit statement to confirm the mailing address is correct and to ensure delivery of year-end payroll and benefit information. Contact Human Resources if your mailing address has changed and a correction is needed.

As a reminder, the dates for this year’s winter holidays are Dec. 24, 25, 26, 29 and Jan. 1. The university is also officially closed Dec. 30, 31 and Jan. 2, so employees must use leave for those days. Leave includes bonus, vacation, special or compensatory.

Individuals who claimed exempt tax withholding status in 2014 and want to continue the exempt status must submit new withholding forms for 2015 by Feb. 1, 2015. Forms W-4 (Federal withholding) and NC-4 or NC-4EZ (state withholding) must be completed and returned to the Payroll Department prior to the deadline.

Failure to submit new withholding forms to Payroll by Friday, Jan. 30, will result in the change of the withholding status to single with zero allowances on the February paycheck. This notification only applies to employees who have elected exempt status (to not have taxes withheld from their pay).

Exempt status should be claimed only if individuals meet the eligibility requirements. Forms are available on the Payroll website and in the Payroll Office.

Employees who want to receive their 2014 W-2 electronically can sign up in Banner Employee Self Service. Additional information is available on the Payroll Department’s website. Paper copies of W-2s will be available by Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.