WHY WE NEED A NATIONAL ALZHEIMER’S PLAN

Yet today, we don’t have a national plan – an aggressive, disciplined, practical strategy – to stop it. Congress recognized this as inexcusable, and in a unanimous, bipartisan decision passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act late last year. On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed it into law.

This is a major opportunity, not just for the 5.4 million Americans with the disease and their nearly 15 million unpaid caregivers, but for all of us. We have the chance to create a National Alzheimer’s Plan that will map the path to overcoming Alzheimer’s – a comprehensive, unified strategy that reaches across the full federal government.

A National Alzheimer’s Plan would also:

• Help to improve early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, and the coordination of care and treatment for Americans with Alzheimer’s
• Allow Congress to assess if the nation is or is not meeting the challenges of the disease for families, communities, and the economy
• Coordinate efforts among the multiple federal agencies that currently work on Alzheimer’s initiatives and programs
• Give all Americans, for the first time, an answer to the simple question, “Was this a good or a bad year in the fight against Alzheimer’s?”

Like any good plan it must be practical – defining exactly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and who needs to do it.

But most of all, it must be relevant. And that’s why we need you. Almost every American has been touched directly or indirectly by Alzheimer’s. These experiences inform those creating the plan what challenges they must address. Sharing your experiences will help us ensure this plan delivers real, true benefits to millions of Americans like yourself.