Delivering on its mission, the Alzheimer's Association provided care and support more than 6.5 million times through channels including alz.org, care consultations, information and referrals, support groups, education programs and information. In this new era of treatment, the Association remains committed to ensuring people in every stage of the disease have access to resources that help them live well. Surveys indicate that constituents are highly satisfied with Association programs and services and would recommend them to others.
The Association's free 24/7 Helpline (800.272.3900) is available around the clock, 365 days a year. Specialists and master's-level clinicians received over 200,000 calls and online chats, offering confidential support and information to people living with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. The service is partially funded by a five-year, $6.2 million federal grant awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living.
The Alzheimer's Association National Early-Stage Advisory Group comprises individuals living in the early stage of Alzheimer's or another dementia who share their experiences through media outlets and other public channels to raise awareness, reduce stigma and provide guidance on the development of Association programs and services. Among other activities, they advocated for the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of lecanemab, the first traditionally approved Alzheimer's treatment that addresses the underlying biology of the disease, and called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide unrestricted coverage of all Alzheimer's treatments approved by the FDA.
Committed to ensuring the highest quality of care for people living with dementia in all communities, the Association empowers professional care workers with educational resources. Nearly 3,000 professionals working in long-term and community-based care settings completed essentiALZ® – Alzheimer's Association Training and Certification, an online program. The training educates professionals on how to apply evidence-based, person-centered care practices when providing care to people living with dementia. The Association received continuing education activity accreditation from Rush University in Chicago for the program. Learners who complete the essentiALZ training and certification can now claim credit for continuing nursing education (CNE), National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), and continuing education for social work, physical therapy, psychology, occupational therapy and nutrition, preparing to continue to improve the quality of care for those living with Alzheimer's and other dementia.
To address the rapidly changing landscape in Alzheimer's treatments, the Association updated its New Advances in Alzheimer's Treatments education program to address FDA-approved anti-amyloid therapeutics. Participants learn about how this class of drugs is designed to work, who may be a candidate for treatment, potential benefits and side effects, availability and pathways for access, and Association resources.
The Association launched a Spanish online and in-person version and an English online version of its evidence-based education program Managing Money: A Caregiver's Guide to Finances. The program teaches caregivers about the costs of caregiving and the benefits of early planning, avoiding financial abuse and fraud, starting a conversation about finances, and assessing financial and legal needs.
The Association launched its eighth nationwide Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Program, along with two regional offerings, for primary care physicians. The program connects dementia care experts with primary care practices in a series of interactive, case-based telementoring sessions, enabling clinicians to better manage dementia, and emphasizes high-quality, person-centered care in community-based settings. Since its inception in 2018, more than 100 primary care practices and nearly 350 primary care physicians have completed ECHO training, influencing nearly 400,000 lives. Evaluations following programs delivered in FY23 showed statistically significant increases in participants' confidence and knowledge.
The Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Provider Roundtable brings together industry leaders from across the continuum of long-term and community-based care to discuss key areas in the delivery of quality person-centered care. The roundtable's 30 member organizations serve over 600,000 people daily in more than 5,300 points of service in all 50 states and 15 countries, and support approximately 400,000 staff. The roundtable awarded a research grant from the Association's Advancing Research on Care and Outcome Measurement (ARCOM) grant program, focused on improving the lives of individuals living with dementia and their care partners.
Through its health systems initiative, the Association engaged 400 health systems and payers nationwide to increase equitable access to care and the quality of dementia care. Health systems partner with the Association and commit to policy changes, with over 13 million people benefiting from these system changes in FY23.
The Alzheimer's Association Innovation Roundtable brings together innovators, champions and experts across the health care sector to reduce risk, improve early detection and increase access to evidence-based, person-centered care for those facing Alzheimer's and all other dementia. In FY23, the group concluded its first year with an innovation challenge and pitch competition that identified innovations to increase cognitive assessment and early detection and diagnosis of dementia within primary care settings. Winners of the competition received funding for 1) clinically validated digital cognitive tests that measure and monitor the state of one's cognition paired with a cognitive health program; 2) a solution that integrates brain biomarkers, cognitive assessment tools and virtual care solutions; and 3) a data-driven solution that combines objective olfactory testing with machine learning algorithms.
The Association introduced an enhanced version of ALZNavigator™, an interactive online tool that provides resources and creates customized action plans for individuals impacted by the disease. ALZNavigator also offers resources for LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, those living with younger-onset Alzheimer's and people who do not yet have a diagnosis. In the first three months following its relaunch, there were over 38,000 sessions conducted by nearly 31,000 users, almost all of whom were new to the platform.
The Association relaunched ALZConnected®, a free online community for people living with dementia and those who care for them, with new features to improve the user experience. Members can post questions about dementia-related issues, offer support, and create public and private groups around specific topics. Over 3,000 new members joined ALZConnected in the first three months after its relaunch, a more than 10% growth in membership.
Constituents engaged in more than 660,000 sessions using the Alzheimer's Association & AARP Community Resource Finder, a growing database of dementia and aging-related resources. Community Resource Finder connects individuals living with dementia and their caregivers with local programs and services.
Nearly 16,000 people registered for ALZ Talks, the Association's free monthly webinar series featuring friendly and insightful conversations on a variety of topics with people living with Alzheimer's, caregivers and dementia experts. The series shares information and resources, while conveying that no one needs to face this disease alone. To date, ALZ Talks has received over 58,000 on-demand views through YouTube and nearly 760,000 views on Facebook.
The Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the fourth edition of The Healthy Brain Initiative: State and Local Road Map for Public Health, 2023-2027, which provides public health officials nationwide with a set of strategies to promote brain health and improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The new edition includes 24 actions to promote brain health, improve diagnoses and maximize care, with a larger focus on partnerships and health equity.