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AFA Awards Grant to Emory University's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
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AFA recently awarded a $50,000 grant to Emory University's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center to support education and community outreach efforts for Atlanta's African-American community.
The new grant will enable Emory's ADRC to build on its current outreach and educational events, strengthen community partnerships and other activities to encourage more African-Americans to be proactive with their memory health and take part in research efforts aimed at finding a treatment and cure for Alzheimer's disease.
A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study release in May showed a 99 percent increase in the death rate from Alzheimer's disease among African-Americans between 1999-2014. Emory's ADRC also notes that African Americans are often diagnosed at later stages of the disease, signaling that many are not getting medical attention when symptoms such as memory loss or behavior changes begin to appear.
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Update from Washington
Senate Appropriators Vote for $414 Million Increase in Alzheimer's Research Funding
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The Senate Appropriations Committee recently voted for a funding increase of $414 million for Alzheimer's disease research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year (FY) 2018. If approved by the full Senate, House and the President, this would put overall federal funding for Alzheimer's disease research at over $1.8 billion for FY 2018.
The Senate action comes on the heels of the House Appropriations Committee's approval in July of $400 million in additional resources for Alzheimer's research at NIH.
AFA applauds federal officials for this positive step, but urge them to go a step further and increase annual funding to $2 billion,
the minimum amount leading scientists say is needed to finding a cure or modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease by 2025.
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FA's Medical, Scientific & Memory Screening Advisory Board Discusses Possible Solutions to Emerging Issues in the Fight Against Alzheimer's
AFA's Medical, Scientific and Memory Screening Advisory Board recently convened in Washington D.C. to discuss ways to solve some of the emerging issues in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Members discussed ways to change public policy to incorporate the unique needs of individuals with young-onset Alzheimer's, who are often still in the workforce, supporting a family and do not qualify for Medicare or Older Americans Act programs and services.
They also explored the growing use of testing to identify a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's disease and how that information is used. The board also talked about developing comprehensive information to help guide caregivers throughout the entire caregiving journey, from the moment the disease enters their lives until the time it leaves.
The discussions will be the basis for recommendations that the advisory board will be issuing in the coming months.
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AFA Announces New
Community Programming for October
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AFA is holding a number of new community programs in the month of October in its Education and Resource Center, located at 322 8th Avenue, Suite 800 in Manhattan. Programs include free memory screenings, music and dance programs, scam & fraud prevention, and professional training.
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| AFA & Town of Babylon Building Respite Park for Caregivers 
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AFA and the Town of Babylon, NY are teaming up to build a new respite care relief park specifically designed for caregivers and individuals living with dementia.
The Town is constructing the park through a $25,000 grant from AFA. The park, the first of its kind in the country,
will serve as AFA's model
for future sites across the country.
Staying isolated indoors is extremely detrimental for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers; it accelerates both the progression of the disease and caregiver burnout. With this new respite care relief park, caregivers will now have a dementia-friendly place where they can go to get out of the house, enjoy the outdoors and learn about resources that are available to help support them.
The Respite Care Relief Park will include educational information about dementia and Alzheimer's disease, along with benches, a brick walkway, a gazebo and landscaping. Docking stations will also be available where people can plug in phones to play music, which often aids in memory and brain stimulation. The park will enable a caregiver to have much needed relief and gain insight on avoiding burnout; building caregiver skills and a team of support; staying active and becoming an advocate. Caregivers will also be able to bring a loved one living with dementia to this peaceful outdoor setting.
The Park is expected to open by early November.
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AFA's Educating
America
Tour Continues with Three More Dates in October
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AFA's national Educating America tour has three more stops coming up in October:
- Indianapolis, IN- October 10th
- Chicago, IL- October 19th
- Boston, MA- October 26th
The free Alzheimer's educational conferences are aimed at helping people be proactive about brain health and memory concerns.
Attendees will hear from leading dementia and caregiving experts on a variety of topics including clinical trials, art therapy, young-onset Alzheimer's disease, communication, safeguarding and protecting your loved ones and your home, the benefits of yoga and pilates for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, and using Improv to improve communication.
There will also be free memory screenings at these conferences.
For more information or to register for any of the upcoming conferences, please click the links below:
The three October conferences cap off the 2017 leg of this multi-year tour, which has already made stops in San Francisco, CA; Las Vegas, NV; West Palm Beach, FL; Birmingham, AL; New York/New Jersey; Philadelphia, PA; Tennessee/Kentucky; Washington, DC; Durham, NC; and Long Island, NY.
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