Dear Editor,
Nearly half of all people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are in hospice care toward the end of their life. Even with the increasing number of Americans contracting the disease and requiring accurate hospice and palliative care, less than half of surveyed nursing homes have some sort of palliative care or hospice care directed exclusively for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. For people with advanced dementia, such adequate care – which focuses on managing and easing symptoms, reducing pain and stress, and increasing comfort – improves quality of life, controls costs, and enhances patient and family satisfaction. But, as the demand for such care grows with the aging population, more must be done to ensure an adequately trained workforce.
We would like to thank Representative Mike Rogers (AL-03) for co-sponsoring the PCHETA Act, and for recently meeting with his constituents to discuss its potential impact. The bipartisan Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (S. 2748/H.R. 3119) would increase palliative care and hospice training for health care professionals, launch a national campaign to inform patients and families about the benefits of palliative care, and enhance research on improving the delivery of palliative care.
We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received from Representative Rogers. In order for the Alzheimer’s Association to meet our mission to end Alzheimer’s disease once and for all, public office officials must take bold action in confronting this epidemic now. It is only through adequate funding and a strong implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that we will meets the Alzheimer’s Association’s goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.
Courtney Vanoy
Ambassador w/ the AL/ FL Panhandle Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association
Letter to the Editor: Thanks to Rep. Rogers for PCHETA act
