Category Archives: Washington

Call to Action: Do you have less than a minute to spare?

23 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Advocacy and Awareness, USAgainstAlzheimer's, Washington

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we_can_do_it_volunteersHot off the press from our friends at USAgainstAlzheimer’s! They make it SO easy for you to let your voice be heard!

We need YOU and less than a minute of your time!

Last week we told you about the proposal for higher Alzheimer’s funding in the House. Now the message is making its way to the Senate.

A bipartisan group of senators is asking colleagues to make Alzheimer’s funding a priority in the government’s FY 2016 spending plan. The more senators we can get to join them, the greater our impact will be and the faster we have the research funding we need to find a cure and save lives.

But the Senate won’t act unless you make your voice heard.

Your senator needs to hear from you: This is our chance to make our voices heard and demand that Congress invest in desperately needed Alzheimer’s research.

Click here to send a letter asking your senator to make Alzheimer’s funding a priority and to sign the FY 2016 Senate Alzheimer’s Appropriations letter today.

With more research funding, we can stop Alzheimer’s. By making your voice heard, you’re helping move us forward in the fight for a cure. Thank you for standing with us against this devastating disease.

Sincerely,

Team USAgainstAlzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s: When Will the Government Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is?

03 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Advocacy and Awareness, ALZ Assn - National, Face of Alzheimer's, Facts & Figures, Helpful Resources, Life After Caregiving, NAPA, Research, Ruminations, USAgainstAlzheimer's, Washington

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In recent days, staunch supporters including Senators Susan Collins (ME), Edward Markey (MA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Jerry Moran (KS) have encouraged President Obama to include an increase for Alzheimer’s research in his FY 2016 budget. After all, what’s a “plan” to end Alzheimer’s by 2025 without the funding necessary to do so?

And the Verdict is in

Disappointment ensued as the Obama Administration released the proposed budget yesterday, and Alzheimer’s was overlooked. In a press release, George Vradenburg, co-founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s said, “If we as a nation do not make Alzheimer’s research a top priority, we simply cannot meet our national goal of preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.”

What will it take to convince our government that unless we do something to stop it, Alzheimer’s will be the public health crisis of our lifetime? Perhaps the powers-that-be need to listen carefully to Michael Auslin’s story, or that of Karen Garner, whose husband was diagnosed before his 50th birthday. What about Rebecca Emily Darling, who was just 26-years-old when her mother was diagnosed?

Proof in the Numbers

  • Alzheimer’s is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America that cannot be prevented, cured, or even slowed. More than 500,000 people die annually from Alzheimer’s.
  • Deaths from Alzheimer’s increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010, while deaths from other major diseases decreased.
  • More than 5 million Americans are living with some form of dementia. If we remain on the current trajectory, that number will rise to 16 million by 2050.
  • Every 67 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer’s. By 2050, it will be every 33 seconds.
  • In 2014, the direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer’s totaled over $200 billion, including $150 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.
  • Unless something is done to stop it, Alzheimer’s will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in today’s dollars) in 2050. Costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase nearly 500 percent.

For more information, check out the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2014 Facts and Figures report.

Take Action

Consider this: Alzheimer’s research spending currently stands at less than 1% of the cost of care.

Please write or call your Senate and Congressional representatives. Ask them to support the fight to #ENDALZ.

If not now, when?

It’s been said there are two kinds of people: those who have been personally touched by Alzheimer’s and those who will be.

Demand Action Now: Help End Alzheimer’s

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Advocacy and Awareness, USAgainstAlzheimer's, Washington

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Please take a couple of minutes to lend your support; USAgainstAlzheimer’s makes it easy! Visit http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=J6sJlT6rpSFpIBC3FnFwnzRTy45204Z7

*** From the Desk of George Vradenburg ***

In just five days, President Obama will deliver the State of the Union address. Washington and the nation will pause to hear the president’s vision, and we need him to publicly commit to stopping Alzheimer’s. The nation already has adopted a national plan that sets as goal one preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by 2025. But this is now just 10 years away and much work remains.

President Obama could issue a “moon shot” for ending Alzheimer’s, like John F. Kennedy did for a moon landing in 1961. But it won’t happen absent a relentless push by those impacted by this dreaded disease.

Help us plant a flag for ending Alzheimer’s by adding your voice now. Join with our USAgainstAlzheimer’s networks and thousands of activists nationwide to encourage the president to address Alzheimer’s during his speech.

Click here to take a moment to ask President Obama to set a marker for ending Alzheimer’s in his State of the Union on Tuesday.

The annual global cost of treating Alzheimer’s in 2010 was an estimated $604 billion –one percent of global GDP. Without new treatments, the number of Alzheimer’s cases and its associated costs are predicted to quadruple in the next 40 years.

That’s not even mentioning the personal toll it takes on families. More than 5 million Americans suffer from this cruel, unforgiving disease, and their loved ones suffer along with them.

We can’t wait for action. If we are going to stop this terrifying trajectory, we need to get bold. We need leadership.

President Obama has a chance to cast a vision for ending Alzheimer’s during his speech. We need to let him know how important it is that he does.

Add your name: Call on President Obama to address the threat of Alzheimer’s in his State of the Union address.

There’s a path to a cure, but it demands commitment from everyone. If we get it, we’ll beat this disease.

Thank you,

George