@Gayle_Harrell
@FLGovScott
@joenegronfl
I’m sending this blog post to my state rep, rick scott and my state senator. None of these people actually care about anyone especially older people who are ill. They are under some kind of delusion that these people can have help. In the case of Ms Harrell she thinks people can go to a free clinic if they have no health insurance.
Right now if you call the Elder Hotline they are wonderful about getting assessments done but they have one problem. There are no funds to help. People are put on a list by need and usually people with dementia are on top of the list. I have no issues with these folks. They are doing the best they can. But no money is no money. It’s could be months before people get services.
And thats for people over 65.
What happens to the younger person who is not on Medicare that get’s diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia?
Where do they go and how do they manage? What about the people who live by themselves?
This past weekend I watched “Still Alice.”
Still Alice, directed by Ricard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, was adapted by the pair from a novel of the same name by Lisa Genova.
Who is Lisa Genova?
Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O’Briens.
“Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), a linguistics professor at Columbia University, celebrates her fiftieth birthday with her physician husband John (Alec Baldwin) and three adult children. During a lecture, Alice forgets the word “lexicon”, and during a jog becomes lost on campus. Her doctor diagnoses her with early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.”
Julianne Moore won a well deserved “Oscar” for her performance.
“Alzheimer’s is a pretty brutal disease — and as Moore pointed out in her acceptance speech for Best Actress at the 2015 Oscars:
I’m very happy — thrilled, actually — that we were able to hopefully shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease. So many people with this disease feel isolated and marginalized, and one of the wonderful things about movies is that it makes us feel seen and not alone. And people with Alzheimer’s deserve to be seen, so that we can find a cure. “
http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp
2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
Learn. Share. Act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=23&v=kcI5UVwFyN0
“An estimated 5.3 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease in 2015.
- Of the 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, an estimated 5.1 million people are age 65 and older, and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 (younger-onset Alzheimer’s).
- Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Of the 5.1 million people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s in the United States, 3.2 million are women and 1.9 million are men.
- Although there are more non-Hispanic whites living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than people of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, older African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely than older whites to have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.”
Why is there an issue disclosing the diagnosis?
“disclosing a diagnosis
Most people living with Alzheimer’s are not aware of their diagnosis.
Despite widespread recognition of the benefits of clear and accurate disclosure, less than half (45 percent) of seniors diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or their caregivers report being told the diagnosis by a health care provider, compared with 90 percent or more of those diagnosed with cancer and cardiovascular disease.”
I’d like to remind everyone that Alzheimer’s is a bipartisan disease. It doesn’t really care if your rich or poor, Democrat or Republican.
Let’s bring it home.
http://www.alzcare.org/statistics
In Palm Beach County there are more than 55,000 people affected by Alzheimer’s disease. In Martin County there are more than 6,400 people and close to 9,000 people in St. Lucie County affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
http://www.alzcare.org/specialized-adult-day-service-centers
Alzheimer’s Community Care operates nine Specialized Alzheimer’s Care and Service Centers with locations throughout Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. All are licensed in accordance with the higher standards of Florida’s Specialized Alzheimer’s Day Care Act of 2012. The cost for a full-day, up to 10 hours, is $65, while half-day care plans begin at $40. The organization provides dementia-specific care for the patient and his or her caregivers.
This is great if you have 40 Bucks a day.
I’m not in any way criticizing the wonderful people from any of the organizations that do this work. I applaud them. I am however criticizing our representatives for not even having this on their radar and telling people if they have no health insurance they can go to a free clinic which btw was line item vetoed by Rick Scott.
Please watch ” Still Alice.” It’s an amazing movie. You all know someone just like Alice. My heart breaks for these people and for the people who love them who bravely take care of them the best they can every day. You are the unsung heros.
cyndi lenz 