Hundreds of Families Gather to Honor Those with Alzheimer'sAlzheimer's Association Washington D.C. — Hundreds of American families from around the country will gather at the Lincoln Memorial Monday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. for a candlelight vigil to draw attention to Alzheimer's disease as a growing national problem because of its effects on families, communities and the U.S. health care system. Sports broadcaster Tim Ryan, whose wife was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in 1991 at the age of 51, will host the vigil. Bill Kays of Northern Virginia, a former caregiver for his wife Pearl, who passed away in February after a valiant 12-year battle with Alzheimer's disease and Rose Whitehurst Miller, a resident of Prince George's County, Maryland, and a former long-distance caregiver to her father, will both speak. Miss Texas 2001, Stacy James, who has been involved in a number of activities with the Texas Coalition of the Alzheimer's Association will perform.  The candlelight vigil is part of the Alzheimer's Association's annual Public Policy Forum. More than 500 Alzheimer advocates are in town for the forum, urging Congress and the President to make conquering Alzheimer's disease a key federal health priority. They seek to increase Alzheimer research funding at the National Institutes of Health from its current level of $598.9 million to $1 billion annually. Other priorities for Alzheimer's families include: modernize Medicare to meet the chronic health care needs of those who already have the disease, beginning with a prescription drug benefit; improve the nation's long-term care system by expanding options for care-at home and in other settings-for persons with Alzheimer's disease, and assure sufficient numbers of staff who are well-trained in dementia care.
For more information, or to contact Alzheimer's Association, see their website at: www.alz.org |
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