SPRING 2020 Mary Joy And Jerre Stead Support Association .

ALZ UpdatesCONCERN AND AWARENESSASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITHAD COUNCIL ON NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN“Discussing Alzheimer’sis challenging forfamilies, and thiscampaign tacklesthe issue directly.Initiating conversationssooner can enableearly diagnosis and(provide) diagnosedindividuals a voicein their future care.”-MICHAEL CARSONOut of the thousands of nonprofitorganizations in the United States,the Alzheimer’s Association wasone of a small number selected topartner with the Ad Council on anational public service advertising(PSA) campaign. The Ad Council, thenation’s leading producer of PSAs,has been behind such memorableicons and slogans as Smokey theBear and “Friends don’t let friendsdrive drunk.”Centering on the messages “Whensomething feels different, it couldbe Alzheimer’s” and “Now is the timeto talk,” the Association’s campaignwas designed to encourage andempower families to address signsof cognitive decline. The “OurStories” campaign features realindividuals who noticed signs ofpotential cognitive decline in a lovedone and took the first, difficult stepof initiating a conversation.“ D i s c u s s i n g A l z h e i m e r ’s i schallenging for families, and thiscampaign tackles the issue directly,”says Michael Carson, Alzheimer’sAssociation chief marketing officer.“Initiating conversations soonercan enable early diagnosis, whichoffers many important benefits,including allow ing more t im efor critical care planning, betterdisease management and providingdiagnosed individuals a voice intheir future care.”4 ASPIRE PHIL ANTHROPY MAGA ZINEDeveloped with creative agencyThe Communit y, the campaignincludes ads for television, radio,print, billboards and buses; socialmedia posts; and more. Supportingcomponents include customizableconversation starters, a discussionguide, a list of early signs ands y mptoms of A lzheimer’s andinformation on the benef its ofearly diagnosis.The Association was chosen topartner with the Ad Council basedon proven expertise on dementia,an issue of critical importance tothe American public. The Councilengages volunteer talent fromleading advertising agencies acrossthe country and leverages more than 1 billion in donated media annually.In addit ion, t he A ssociat ion’scampaign was one of only a fewhandpicked by Facebook to receive 500,000 in donated media.“Our Stories” is anticipated tobe active at least through 2021.For more information,visit alz.org/ourstories.

PUBLIC POLICYAMBASSADORS EMBARK UPONSECOND DECADE OF IMPACTImpressive annual increases infeder al funding for dem ent iar esea rch a n d p ass a g e of t h eBuilding Our Largest Dementia(BO LD) I nfr as t r uc ture Ac t of2 018 a r e a m o n g t h e m a n ylegislative victories the Alzheimer’sAssociation has achieved over thepast decade.Cent r al to t hese successesare the Alzheimer's ImpactMovement (AIM), a separ atelyincorporated advocacy affiliate ofthe Association, and Alzheimer’sAssociation Ambassadors. Thesevolunteer advocates are recruitedand trained to maintain year-roundconversations with their electedofficials, educating them on issuesand holding them accountableto their commitments to peopleaf fec ted by dement ia. Pilotedin 2010 with suppor t from TheJudy Fund, the program now hasAmbassadors for all 535 membersof Congress.“ Senator s and representativesknow t hey can call or emailtheir Ambassador whenevert h e y h a ve a q u e s t i o n a b o u tAlzheimer’s,” says John Funderburk,vice president of Advocacy for theAssociation and AIM.Alabama resident and AIMLeadership Societ y memberStephaine Buffaloe ser ves as anAmbassador to both a Democraticrepresentative and a Republicansenator. “There’s a great level oftrust because these relationshipsare built over time,” she says. “Itdoesn’t matter whether you are redor blue. Ours is a purple issue thattranscends party lines.”A s more constituent s join thef ight as Association advocates,A mbassador s are increasingl ytaking on more leadership roles.They help coordinate advocates’ac t ivit ies, such as monitor inglegislators’ social media accounts,draf ting letter s to the editor sof l o c a l n e w s p a p e r s , l ea d i n gAlzheimer’s Congressional Team(ACT) volunteers and organizingevents. Building off the momentumof federal policy successes, theAssociation has begun to recruitand train State Champions to serveas ambassadors for legislators atthe state level.“Adult guardianship and dementiacare training standards are amongthe many important issues that areaddressed by state governments,”says Funderburk. “We are alreadyseeing bills getting passed andare confident that our new StateChampions program will be aseffective in its first 10 years as itsmodel — the Ambassador program— has been.”For more information on AIM,visit alzimpact.org.CARE ANDSUPPORTASSOCIATIONCOLLABORATESWITH LONG-TERMCARE COMMUNITIESWith an aging population andmore people at risk of developingcognitive impairment, there’s anincreased need for assistance withactivities of daily living, such aseating, bathing, toileting and gettingdressed. In 2018, the Associationpublished its Dementia Care PracticeRecommendations, 56 evidencebased recommendations for personcentered dementia care. Today,the organization is implementing avariety of strategies to help staff inlong-term care settings adopt thesequality care practices.“Of the 1 million people currentlyin assisted living, 42% are livingwith dementia,” says Beth Kallmyer,A l z h e i m e r ’s A s s o ci a t i o n v i cepresident of Care and Support.“Whether they enjoy a good qualityof life depends greatly on whetherthose who care for them understandand respond appropriately totheir behaviors, special needs andpersonal preferences.”Person-centered care practiceshave shown beneficial effects onwell-being, behavior and everydayquality of life and have reduced theuse of psychotropic medication forindividuals living with dementia.They have also demonstr atedsuccess in reducing stress andmitigating burnout and jobdissatisfaction among professionalcare providers — a perennial andcostly challenge in the long-termcare industry. SPRING 2020 5

ALZ UpdatesCARE ANDSUPPORT continuedLast year the Association pilotedPr o j e c t EC H O fo r Pe r s o nCe n t e r e d D e m e n t i a C a r e i nA ssis ted-Li v ing Communit ies ,using videoconferencing to train70 participants from 15 facilitiesin five states. The Association hassince entered into a partnershipwith the Leading Age MinnesotaFoundation to enable additionalassisted-living staff to participatein the Alzheimer’s and DementiaCare ECHO program. Two cohortsof learners come together with theAlzheimer’s Association in biweeklyvideoconference sessions to engagein real-life case discussions andlearn evidence-based best practicesto better support residents in theirown communities.Another pilot is testing an in-personapproach. With funding from acadre of donors, the Alzheimer’sAssociation Dementia CarePr ac tice Recommendations(D CPR) I mplem ent at ion PilotProgram is using and evaluatinga consultative coaching model inassisted-living communities in Ohio.The Association will use the findingsfrom this pilot and others to developa DCPR Implementation Strategythat can be rolled out nationally.“The number of people living withAlzheimer’s and other dementias isgrowing, so there’s also a growingneed for people who can care forthem with skill and sensitivity,” saysKallmyer. “We are encouraged thata growing number of long-termcare communities are choosing tocollaborate with us.”CO N T I N U E DRESEARCHGLOBAL PARTNERSHIP SEEDS PUBLICHEALTH LEADERSHIPThe Alzheimer’s Association, GlobalBrain Health Institute and U.K.based Alzheimer’s Society haveunited to address the growingworldwide public health crisis dueto dementia. The Pilot Awardsfor Global Brain Health Leadersis a competitive funding programto suppor t emerging leaders asthey conduct research pilots andactivities related to access to care,stigma, brain health risk factorsand other key challenges.“The prevalence of dementia isexpected to triple worldwide to 152million by 2050,” says Maria Carrillo,Ph. D., Alzheimer’s A ssociationchief science officer. “Our goal isto support leadership developmentwith an emphasis on low- andmiddle-income communities. Theawards will drive projects, activitiesand research to address disparitiesin dementia diagnosis, treatment,and care for vulnerable populationsand their families.”The 2019/2020 awards — 27in tot al — span 14 countriesacross f ive cont inent s andsuppor t research and activitiesin the areas of advocacy, systemschange, applied research and more.Funded pilots include a study of airpollution and dementia in Brazil, aninvestigation of social media useas an early indication of cognitivedecline in Egypt , and an ar t s6 ASPIRE PHIL ANTHROPY MAGA ZINEproject in the U.S. that involvespeople living with dementia andtheir care partners in the creationof and active par ticipation in adance performance.Now in its fourth year, the PilotAwards for Global Brain HealthLeader s includes aw ardees inArgentina, Botswana, Colombia,Costa Rica, Ireland, Israel, Mexico,Peru, Romania, South Africa, theU.K. and more. The 2019/2020funding cycle of approximately 675,000 includes about 25,000for each individual award to enablethe recipients to pilot test a projectand then, if successful, seek furtherresources to scale up their work. Asof December 2019, 65 pilots across24 countries and regions have beenawarded a total of 1.64 million.“The awards will driveprojects, activities andresearch to addressdisparities in dementiadiagnosis, treatment,and care for vulnerablepopulations andtheir families.”-M A R I A C A R R I L LO, Ph.D.

FUEL FOR THE MISSIONCVS HEALTH JOINS FORCES WITH THE ASSOCIATIONCVS Health will also communicatewith customers about resourcesavailable to suppor t familycaregivers. Some of the proceedsfrom the campaign will be usedto develop a new A ssociat ioncaregiver education program forin-person and online deliver y inEnglish and Spanish.The Alzheimer’s Association andCVS Health have entered into athree-year corporate partnershipthat will provide a minimum of 10 million for the Association’smission and increase awarenessof caregiver resources andsupport services. The partnershipin cl u d es in-s t o r e f u n d r a isin gcampaigns and participation in theAlzheimer’s Association Walk toEnd Alzheimer’s .“CVS Health is a respected leaderin championing important healthissues impacting societ y,” s

and Mary Barton Smith made generous gifts to advance health systems engagement in Northern California. The Zenith Society sets the bar for philanthropic leadership, engagement and impact. ZENITH SOCIETY MEMBERS ADVANCE KEY INITIATIVES Mary Barton Smith (front left) and Dagmar Dolby (front right) with other Zenith Society members