Next Steps for National Alzheimer’s Plan Discussed

The Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services met Monday to discuss the implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. The full day meeting discussed a variety of topics, including strategies to help long term services and supports provide effective care for those with Alzheimer’s disease.

The meeting included presentations from the advisory council’s subcommittees, an overview of feedback relating to the plan, and a public comment period. This meeting was the first since the final plan was released, so all presentations centered around how to effectively achieve the goals of the highly ambitious National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. Some upcoming actions of the task for will be:

Better coordination of data, which will be achieved by creating a web-based searchable database of Alzheimer’s research projects and creating a streamlined strategic planning tool for HHS to track achievement of goals across plans.
Connecting caregivers with existing resources. A plain language public awareness campaign aimed at reaching family caregivers will begin running television and print ads August 6th.
Strengthening the direct care workforce by providing new resources, such as the Hand in Hand guide that emphasizes person centered care, abuse prevention, and non-pharmacological interventions. This resource will be available at the end of August and will be distributed to nursing homes at this time. Comprehensive surveyor trainings will also begin in September.
More research. The $50 million dedicated to Alzheimer’s research earlier this year by President Obama has been directed towards specific research projects.

The advisory council also recognized the role that community based care plays in providing for those with Alzheimer’s disease. Presenters indicated that there are many effective non-pharmacological programs that serve individuals with Alzheimer’s in community environments, but these programs are not common enough to meet growing demand. Conducting demos and pilots of these programs and broadly implementing effective programs was one suggestion for strengthening the availability of effective Alzheimer’s care.

Visit the National Alzheimer's Project Act’s webpage for more information on the meeting.

Next Steps for National Alzheimer’s Plan Discussed

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