Innovative Caregiver Support Program Shines at Alzheimer’s Conference

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, leading experts gathered to share breakthroughs in research and highlight the importance of innovative programs, including Florida’s groundbreaking caregiver support initiative.

In this video, courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Association, Rosemary Laird, MD, MHSA, of the AdventHealth Research Institute in Orlando, Florida, discusses the caregiver program she is working on with support from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

The people who have assembled here really represent the leading edge of the world’s foremost scientists who are helping us try to figure out this disease and figure out how we can learn more about it so we can stop it.

There’s also people here working in a really important area of diagnostics, so we’re going to have better ways to diagnose this illness, and I’m excited as a clinician to bring that kind of information back to my home practice so that I can help individuals get a more personalized and more individualized understanding of their risk. Because I know some of you out there have concerns about a loved one who’s already facing this illness, some of you may then have concerns about yourselves. The cutting edge is looking at both those issues and ultimately we want to be able to prevent this disease and treat this disease.

So, the hope here is really palpable. I’m also here representing a really important program that the Department of Elder Affairs in our wonderful state of Florida has been instrumental in, and that’s a public-private partnership, a program called NAN [Navigating Aging Needs], and that’s about family caregiver support.

So, don’t you love that a conference like this that has so much scientific advancement, they’re also remembering — because the Alzheimer’s Association does that — they also remember that the family caregiver is one of the most important parts of the relationship for someone who’s having a life with Alzheimer’s disease? They depend on those family caregivers. And so should all of us, to make sure they’re able to maintain their role of the care they want to provide to their loved ones.

So, I’m excited that we’re here talking about a caregiver support program that is available because of the forward thinking of our own leadership at the state of Florida. It’s an example for the whole country and it’s getting noticed, and I’m really happy about that.