Senate Bill Creates National Alzheimer’s Office in
the White House to Develop Strategic Plan
Senators Martinez, Bayh of Special Committee on
Aging join to offer bi-partisan bill
Sen. Mel Martinez
Sen. Evan Bayh
July 29, 2009 - Legislation was introduced today in
the U.S. Senate to create an Office of the National Alzheimer's Project
within the White House to coordinate all research, clinical care and
service toward the prevention, care, and cure of Alzheimer's. Sen. Mel
Martinez (R-FL) joined with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) to introduce the
measure they say is a system to help eliminate the Alzheimer’s disease.
"Our nation's current health care system is
unprepared to meet the needs of the growing number of Alzheimer's
patients. As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age and the
prevalence of this disease increases, innovative drugs and treatments
are desperately needed to manage and slow this disease," said Martinez,
senior Republican on the Senate's Special Committee on Aging.
This office will produce a national strategic plan
to help assure that the millions of Americans who now have Alzheimer's
and the millions of potentially at-risk Americans will have a
coordinated effort to target the 6th leading cause of death in the
United States.
Sen. Evan Bayh, a Democratic member of the Special
Committee on Aging, said, "Alzheimer's causes a tremendous emotional
strain to the families caring for patients, and a financial strain on
our nation's already stressed health care system. With the number of
Alzheimer's patients on the rise and the federal government spending an
estimated one hundred billion dollars on their care this year, we must
increase our efforts to detect and combat this disease.”
He added, “Establishing the Office of the National
Alzheimer's Project in the White House will accelerate the development
of cutting edge medical treatments to fight Alzheimer's and improve
patient care for the 5.3 million Americans and their families who
bravely confront this disease every day."
The Office of the National Alzheimer's Project's
director will be appointed to the Domestic Policy Council and the Office
of Science and Technology and will have input in all realms relating to
this devastating disease. The office will also ensure the inclusion of
ethnic and racial populations at higher risk for Alzheimer's or least
likely to receive care in clinical, research, and access to facilities
diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's.
Joining Senators Martinez and Bayh in this effort,
are Senators Collins (R-ME), Bennet (D-CO), Feingold (D-WI), and Tester
(D-MT).
The Office of the National Alzheimer's Project act
has received the Alzheimer's Associations support.
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