There appears to be growing interest in Washington D.C. power circles in doing something concrete about Alzheimer's. The press release below about this growing interest, which includes such players as former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Sen. Susan Collins, says that "A stunning 77 percent of Americans polled say they have been touched by Alzheimer’s." This IS a big number. As more and more adult children find that they are having to deal with aging parents with this (and other) mental conditions, whether their parents are in nursing homes or aging in place, the numbers of Americans wanting to do something legislatively can only grow.
Here's another sobering dementia wakeup call from the release:
"With the first wave of baby boomers turning 65 on January 1, 2011, it is expected that 10 million of the nation’s 78 million baby boomers will die of Alzheimer’s unless stopped. Over the next 10 years, $2 trillion will be spent caring for those with Alzheimer’s while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will invest only $5 billion in research.
Best thing for adult children to do now: get involved.
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Washington, DC - October 6, 2010 - USAgainstAlzheimer’s, a new campaign to mobilize Americans to stop Alzheimer’s by 2020, released the results of a new national poll showing that 88 percent of registered voters say it is important for Congress to make Alzheimer’s a priority, even with a growing budget deficit. A stunning 77 percent of Americans polled say they have been touched by Alzheimer’s. In the face of this growing crisis, 215 Members of Congress, including 56 Senators and 159 Representatives have cosponsored legislation in the 111th Congress to increase Alzheimer’s funding and adopt a National Strategy to stop the disease, including the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act (H.R. 3286, S. 1492) and the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (H.R. 4689, S. 3036).
The rest of the release can be found here.
Another worthy organization is the Alzheimer's Association which has a new report on the global impact of the disease.
