Brain Awareness Month and the AADAPT Act

June, being Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, reminds me of my great grandmother’s life as recollected by my mom. She tells me about the time when my great grandma had a hard time remembering names and relationships, and how her primary care doctor attributed her forgetfulness to aging. She could never get a proper diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), let alone treatment. Due to a lack of proper tools and training to detect AD, we could not get a timely diagnosis and care for her.

This story doesn’t end here. I still hear news and families discussing part of the larger problems, which is the lack of primary care providers’ ability to timely diagnose and make a treatment plan for patients. One part is lack of training, relying on specialists, which takes forever to get appointments, lack of tools, and lack of enough time spent with the patients and their families. As the number of Californians with Alzheimer’s increases, including an estimated 32,000 in Santa Clara county, so does the need for primary care providers who are trained to detect, diagnose, and advise patients living with the disease. Research confirms that early detection and diagnosis is critical for identifying patients who might benefit from new treatments.

The bipartisan Accelerating Access to Dementia & Alzheimer’s Provider Training (AADAPT) Act (H.R. 7688) will help by giving primary care providers access to telementoring with multidisciplinary dementia care experts, so they can deliver the high-quality dementia care we need now.

Please join me in asking Congressman Ro Khanna to help California’s caregivers and primary care providers by cosponsoring the AADAPT Act. I also want to thank Congressman Ro Khanna for his past support for the Alzheimer’s cause.

Again, June being Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, we have a chance this month to raise awareness, help our loved ones and communities facing this disease, and support policies to improve care and support for those affected.

If you or someone you know needs information or assistance in caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia, please reach out to the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org or 800.272.3900.