[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 87 (Thursday, June 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3470-S3471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ALZHEIMER'S AND BRAIN AWARENESS MONTH

 Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I recognize this June as the 
inaugural Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. Alzheimer's remains 
one of our Nation's leading causes of death, and the number of 
diagnoses is expected to triple by 2050--resulting in 16 million 
Americans over the age of 65 living with Alzheimer's. Today, one in 
three seniors will die with Alzheimer's disease. Currently, in my home 
of State of Florida, 480,000 residents over the age of 65 are living 
with Alzheimer's, and the number is project to rise to 720,000 by 2050.
  Given these staggering numbers, it is important we focus our 
resources to address this disease as outlined in the National 
Alzheimer's Plan, a roadmap for confronting Alzheimer's and dementia. 
The National Alzheimer's Plan is released annually and outlines steps 
the government should pursue in the fight against Alzheimer's. Last 
year, the Special Committee on Aging, for which I am privileged to 
serve as chairman, held a hearing to assess the progress made in 
combatting Alzheimer's disease and examined the first year of the 
National Alzheimer's Plan as it continues its ongoing efforts to find 
an effective treatment by 2025.
  This June, the first Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, we must 
initiate a global conversation about Alzheimer's disease and other 
dementias. Despite the prevalence of the disease, it is still widely 
misunderstood. The Alzheimer's Association, the world's leading 
voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support, and 
research, is working to reduce stigma surrounding the illness, promote 
education on the realities of the disease, and help promote research to 
end Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's Association is also 
encouraging Americans to ``Go Purple''--the color of the Alzheimer's 
movement to fight Alzheimer's disease and promote public awareness of 
this month's mission.
  Recently, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, AFA, released a cost 
analysis report of the caregiver provisions in the 2012 National 
Alzheimer's Plan. The AFA works to ensure the best care and services 
are available to improve quality of life for individuals confronting 
Alzheimer's disease. I believe that the work of the AFA and other 
Alzheimer's advocacy organizations is increasingly important as we 
continually work to improve the care and well-being for those living 
with Alzheimer's disease while also improving the quality of life for 
caregivers and family members as they care for their loved ones.
  AFA's recent report, ``Cost of Care: Quantifying Care-Centered 
Provisions of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease,'' 
evaluates the costs and benefits associated with implementation of 
coordinated care delivery models, transitional care programs, and 
expanded caregiver supports in the 2012 National Alzheimer's Plan. AFA 
found that implementation of these caregiver provisions provide 
significant cost savings while promoting better health outcomes for 
those living with Alzheimer's disease by reducing hospital readmissions 
and emergency room visits and delaying nursing home

[[Page S3471]]

placement. The enactment of these provisions could result in Federal 
savings that exceed $110 billion over 10 years.
  I am well aware of the hardships for those living with this disease 
and their loved ones. I hear frequently from my constituents about the 
importance of continuing to appropriate research dollars for 
Alzheimer's research and the necessity of making Alzheimer's a national 
priority. For example, Jeff from Palm Beach Gardens has been caring for 
his mother for the last 5 years as her disease slowly progresses. And 
Heather of Winter Park, who wrote to me last October, shared the 
heartbreaking ``loss and grief that comes slowly and constantly'' with 
her mother's illness and the mourning for the person her mother was 
before her diagnosis. The work to improve care services for those 
living with Alzheimer's as well as support services for their loved 
ones is a growing necessity as our Nation's population ages and the 
number of individuals confronting the disease dramatically increases 
over the coming decades.

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