There are 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer's (120,000 in Tennessee) and over 16 million (435,000) unpaid Alzheimer's caregivers.
Over 1,200 advocates from across the nation just returned from the Alzheimer's Impact Movement Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C.
On Capitol Hill we asked our senators and Congressman Fleischmann to support legislation to provide researchers, clinicians and caregivers with resources necessary to combat Alzheimer's. Also urging increased funding for research at the National Institutes of Health and the BOLD Act. Rep. Fleischmann as a ranking member of the Appropriation's Committee is crucial to moving these funding requests forward.
I also met and thanked Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, for her part in introducing the BOLD Act and helping it get passed in December 2018.
Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the nation (4th in Tennessee). It is also the most expensive with an estimated cost of $290 billion in 2019. Someone develops Alzheimer's every 65 seconds making it a public health crisis.
There is no prevention, no cure, no survivors. I know. My husband was diagnosed in 2004 at the age 57 and passed away in June 2018. I had the privilege of taking care of him. Now I will advocate for him.
Andrea "Andi" Erwin