Letters: Applaud lawmakers for Alzheimer’s support.
Support for Alzheimer’s
The number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease in our state has grown to 520,000 Floridians — the second-highest prevalence rate by state in our country. More than 1 million Floridians provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. In 2017, these caregivers provided an estimated 1.2 billion hours of care valued at over $15 billion.
As one of the many thousands of people in Central Florida who has cared for someone with Alzheimer’s, I understand the disease’s impact and the emotional, physical, and financial toll it takes on the caregiver. And now, Congress has acted to address the needs of our nation’s family caregivers through the development and implementation of a coordinated national strategy with the passage of the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act.
Endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, the RAISE Family Caregivers Act is consistent with the national plan to address Alzheimer’s Disease, which seeks to expand and enhance training, education and support for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
Please join me in thanking U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy for their support of the RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Kealey West Alzheimer’s Association ambassador from Wekiva Springs
Hospital fears competition?
Daryl Tol, president and CEO of Florida Hospital, wrote in a letter to the mayors of Orlando and Orange County and to Tavistock that Florida Hospital is withdrawing its bid to acquire the Sanford Burnham facility. He wrote that “we have no interest in being part of a process where winning requires that major community partners seek to defeat each other.”
It’s called competition — a fine American tradition. This seems like false piety, considering the secretive nature of Florida Hospital’s attempt to make a deal with Sanford Burnham in the first place. Priscilla Cockerell Orlando