Coming soon: Alzheimer’s listening session in San Francisco 8/10
You may have noticed the recent news about a new therapy for advanced melanoma. Good news. Listening to an interview with one of the scientists involved, he commented, “this is the payoff of decades of Federal investment in cancer research.” Indeed.
He made the case we make. The investment in cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS has been, and continues to be, a good one, making real differences in real people’s lives and bending the curve of cancer deaths downwards. We look now for a similar investment in Alzheimer’s disease before the Baby Boom generation is doomed to a huge wave of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hopefully you know that in January the President signed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act into law. NAPA requires the Federal government to convene an annual conversation among all the Federal agencies who touch our issue surveying the impact of Alzheimer’s on our nation and reviewing the adequacy of our response. You and I already have an idea about the answers to these questions.
Now begins the challenging opportunity of making it come to life. On the afternoon of August 10 representatives from the White House and the Federal Department of Health and Human Services will be in San Francisco for a listening session. It’s just what it sounds like. They will listen to the people with Alzheimer’s, their families and professionals in the field about what they hope the Act will accomplish. You will hear more about this, but I encourage you to try to attend if possible. Not only does the testimony matter, it also matters that people turn out to show them that Alzheimer’s is important in our community and that we are not remotely satisfied with the current response. This is your chance. We’re working on the site and the details. Tune in and turn out.
