Sen. Collins Speaks About Legislation on Alzheimer’s Disease, Healthy Aging Program
Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from
Our legislation would create a public health infrastructure aimed at combating Alzheimer's disease and preserving brain health. Alzheimer's disease is one of the greatest and most under-recognized public health threats of our time. Former Surgeon General
In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer's is our Nation's most costly disease.
While Alzheimer's is the only one of our Nation's most deadly diseases without an effective treatment or cure, tantalizing new research suggests that there are steps we can take to promote prevention and improve treatment.
The first step we should take is to recognize Alzheimer's as a public health crisis. It is because of public health advancements that we have safe water to drink, vaccines to prevent deadly diseases, interventions to quit smoking, and emergency preparedness tools to save lives. The effort to combat Alzheimer's disease requires a similar unified, national public health effort. That effort is gaining steam.
In 1999, when I founded the
Seven years ago, I coauthored with then-Senator
On the Appropriations Committee, I have worked hard with
While this research is moving forward, we must put into practice what we know and enhance the quality of care and support for those living with Alzheimer's and their families. In March, the Aging Committee, which I chair, held a hearing on the arc of Alzheimer's, from preventing cognitive decline to ensuring quality care for those living with dementia. The hearing shed light on the fact that although we do not yet know how to prevent Alzheimer's, we are advancing in our understanding of the disease. Its progression does not happen overnight; it is preceded by years and perhaps decades of changes in the brain and a continuum of changes in behavior, including cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence suggests that lifestyle factors, such as regular physical activity and attention to heart health, may reduce the risk of cognitive decline. There is so much we have yet to know.
Alzheimer's is a public issue for those living with the disease, for those caring for their loved ones with the disease, for all of us as taxpayers, and for those who know that our brain is our most precious resource. Alzheimer's exacts a tremendous personal and economic toll on families and communities. More than 40 million Americans know all too well the compassion, commitment, and endurance that it takes to be a caregiver of a loved one facing a chronic disease like Alzheimer's.
The legislation we are introducing today would apply a new public health approach to Alzheimer's disease. It would establish Centers of Excellence in Public Health Practice dedicated to promoting effective Alzheimer's disease management and caregiving interventions, as well as educating the public on the disease, cognitive decline, and brain health.
The
In addition to establishing the Centers of Excellence in Public Health Practice, this bill would spread the opportunity for communities across America to create the necessary core capacity to combat Alzheimer's and to enhance existing efforts in this regard. The legislation would establish and distribute cooperative agreements to public health departments to support systems change, communications, and programmatic interventions. These agreements would also support the actions in the
Finally, at the heart of public health is data. This legislation would direct the
For far too long, we have viewed Alzheimer's disease as an aging issue that plagues our seniors today and threatens to affect many more tomorrow. In fact, the disease is far more than that.
It is a public health issue with a course that we can change. If we do not take action, both in this new public health approach and by continuing to build on the research, this disease will bankrupt the Medicare and the Medicaid Programs. We cannot afford to spend over
There are steps that we can take today to prevent cognitive decline and to improve the lives of those who are living with Alzheimer's and the lives of their caregivers. This public health approach is not only empowering, but it is key to avoiding the terrible impacts that I have outlined.
After decades of expanding much needed biomedical research in Alzheimer's, we are ready for the next step--to translate research into policy. The BOLD bill would create a new, enlightened public policy out of promising research by creating the first ever national public health infrastructure for Alzheimer's disease.
I am pleased to say that the bipartisan bill that the Senator from
I ask unanimous consent that their letters of support be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
I urge my colleagues to support this critical and bipartisan legislation.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Alzheimer's
Hon.
Hon.
Hon.
Dear Senators Collins,
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's and, without significant action, as many as 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's by 2050. Today, another person develops the disease every 66 seconds; by 2050, someone in
As scientists continue to search for a way to prevent, cure, or slow the progression of Alzheimer's through medical research, public health plays an important role in promoting cognitive function and reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Investing in a nationwide Alzheimer's public health response will help create population-level change, achieve a higher quality of life for those living with the disease and their caregivers, and reduce associated costs. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act would provide this crucial investment by establishing Alzheimer's centers of excellence across the country and funding state, local and tribal public health departments to increase early detection and diagnosis, reduce risk, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, reduce health disparities, support the needs of caregivers and support care planning for people living with the disease. These important public health actions allow individuals with Alzheimer's to live in their homes longer and delay costly institutionalized care. These goals are consistent with the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, which includes a strategy to "work with state, tribal, and local governments to improve coordination and identify model initiatives to advance Alzheimer's disease and related dementias awareness and readiness across the government."
The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act would also increase the collection, analysis and timely reporting of Alzheimer's data. This data is critical to identifying opportunities for public health interventions, helping stakeholders track progress in the public health response, and enabling state and federal policymakers to make informed decisions when developing plans and policies. Finally, the bill would also strengthen implementation of the
Sincerely,
Chief Public Policy Officer, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs,
____
Hon.
Hon.
Hon.
Hon.
Dear Senators Collins,
Former Surgeon General and Director of the
Public health plays an important role in protecting the health and well-being of Americans, including promoting cognitive function and reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Investing in a nationwide Alzheimer's public health response will help create population-level change, achieve a higher quality of life for those living with the disease and their caregivers, and reduce associated costs. The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act would provide this crucial investment by establishing Alzheimer's centers of excellence across the country and funding state, local and tribal public health departments to increase early detection and diagnosis, reduce risk, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, reduce health disparities, support the needs of caregivers and support care planning for people living with the disease. These important public health actions allow individuals with Alzheimer's to live in their homes longer and delay costly institutionalized care.
The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act would also increase the collection, analysis and timely reporting of data. This data is critical to identifying opportunities for public health interventions, helping stakeholders track progress in the public health response, and enabling state and federal policymakers to make informed decisions when developing plans and policies. Finally, the bill would also strengthen nationwide implementation of the
We deeply appreciate your leadership on behalf of the public health community and all American's living with Alzheimer's and other dementias. We look forward to working with you to advance this important bipartisan bill.
Sincerely,
Alzheimer's
Directors,
Ms. COLLINS. I am now very pleased to yield to the coauthor of this important bill. Senator
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from
Ms.
I also rise to share a story that is very personal to me. It is a story about one of the smartest people whom I have known, my grandmother Katherine, whom I was named after. She was the daughter of an Italian immigrant and his Italian-American wife. She was exactly the kind of person you think of when you think of an Italian grandmother. If you have ever had one, you know that she loves to feed people and invite the whole family--aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone--over to her house for dinner on Sunday nights. The other 6 days of the week, she worked on volunteer projects throughout
She never graduated from college, but she was a leader in our community, and she was always reading. If you walked into her house, it was full of books. In fact, the first thing that you saw when you walked into her house was, on one wall, floor to ceiling, a bookcase with all of the books that she had read.
She was brilliant. She was one of my greatest inspirations. Her work in our community in
Unfortunately, in the 1990s, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. At first, you could barely notice a difference. There were small things, things that could happen to anyone--lost keys, mismatched socks, books left in odd places. Then a woman who had spent her entire life loving to cook for her family and grandchildren had suddenly stopped cooking.
Over the next 10 years, she got progressively worse. We could see the changes in her every single day, but our lives changed too. My grandfather became her caregiver. My mother became her caregiver. My aunt became her caregiver. My cousins and I and my sister all became caregivers. That is what happens when someone is diagnosed. It does not affect just one person; it affects an entire family.
There is a common misconception that people who are suffering from Alzheimer's are not aware of what they are losing, that their memories are gone but not missed. That was not the case for my grandmother. I do not think it is the case for anyone who is struggling with this disease. My grandmother frequently had these moments of clarity when it was clear that the losses were just as painful for her as they were for all of us.
One thing that happens to many people with Alzheimer's is that they tend to wander. They wander away from home or they get lost. She had had one of those moments of clarity after she had wandered away from home one day, and the entire family had spent an afternoon looking for her in our neighborhood. My aunt and I had found her and had gone to pick her up in a car. I will never forget it, as I sat in the back seat while my aunt drove.
My grandmother, who had been seated on the front passenger's side, asked my aunt: Why am I doing this? Why am I in my housecoat and slippers? Why am I doing this?
My aunt looked at her and she said: Mom, you are sick. You have something they call Alzheimer's, and that means that it is impacting your brain and your memories, and you are forgetting.
We were so powerless. We couldn't do anything but make her comfortable and bring her home.
For many, many families who are dealing with Alzheimer's, they have gone through those same moments--those moments when they are dealing with their loved ones either trying to explain to them what is happening or giving them comfort because they know their memories are gone, and they want to make sure they are giving them the comfort they need and they deserve.
We know, unfortunately, that there is no cure for Alzheimer's. My grandmother passed away, as many people with Alzheimer's do, when her illness got so bad that she lost the ability to eat or drink, but the experience of caring for my grandmother opened my eyes to the true impact of this disease. I saw that when one person is diagnosed, whole families' lives are transformed too. I think about my grandmother every day. Every day, I return to some piece of wisdom or guidance that she shared with me. I am committed now to honoring her memory by fighting to prevent Alzheimer's and to provide caregivers with the support they need and deserve.
When my grandmother was first diagnosed, we did not understand Alzheimer's like we do today. We did not have enough healthcare programs for it or support for the caregivers. It was seen as an individual disease that struck at random, with no cure and no hope. Although there is still no cure, we know now that there are things that we can do to help to keep the brain healthy longer and possibly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and that there are things that we can do now to promote prevention.
For those who are already living with Alzheimer's and for their caregivers, like my family was for my grandmother, there are things that we can do to dramatically improve their experiences and to help lessen some of that burden. Today there are things we can do to invest in finding that cure for Alzheimer's. It is just a petri dish away, but we have to believe that it is there and that we can continue and support that investment. I have visited the
There is no longer any doubt that this is a public health crisis. That is why I am so grateful and proud to be sitting on a committee and working with a chairwoman, my colleague from
I am proud to join my colleagues from
I urge my colleagues to support this vital, bipartisan piece of legislation that has the potential of having a positive impact on millions of Americans across this country.
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