Last December, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra released the annual update to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, which now includes a new goal focused on work being done to promote healthy aging and reduce the risks that may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. The National Plan was created as a direct result of the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA), which was passed in 2011 thanks in part to the tireless advocacy of the Alzheimer's Ambassadors. Piloted in 2010 with support from The Judy Fund, Ambassadors are recruited and trained to maintain year-round conversations with their elected officials, educating them on issues and holding them accountable to their commitments to people affected by dementia.
"Scientists have identified action steps we can take to maintain our health and function as we get older — from improving our diet and levels of physical activity to getting health screenings and managing risk factors for disease," said Dr. Richard Hodes, Director of the National Institute on Aging. "These approaches may influence multiple health concerns, including risk for Alzheimer's and related dementias, and we remain committed to learning more through research discovery."
Under the plan's new goal, the federal government will accelerate research on risk factors for Alzheimer's and other dementia, and strengthen the infrastructure needed to rapidly translate and disseminate information about risk factors, interventions to reduce the burden of risk factors, and related health promotion activities to health care providers, community-based providers, caregivers, and public health networks.
You made this happen! Your generosity fuels the continued success of the Alzheimer's Ambassador program and the fight against this relentless disease.
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