Letter to the Editor: Alzheimer's is a public health threat

Dear Editor:

It is time we change our thinking on Alzheimer’s disease.

Too often Alzheimer’s is treated as an aging issue, ignoring the public health consequences of the disease. In fact, there are 630,000 Californians who are struggling with Alzheimer’s, and those numbers are sure to go up.

Both my grandmother and my father battled this horrific disease and I am well aware of the devastating emotional and financial effect it can have on a family.

Congress has a chance to take decisive action passing the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (S. 2076/H.R. 4256). This act would create an Alzheimer’s public health infrastructure across the country to implement effective Alzheimer’s interventions.

Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in the U.S. costing the country more than $259 billion a year. If we are going to end Alzheimer’s disease we must start treating it like the public health threat it is.

I am hoping Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard will continue her practice of advocating for issues of importance to seniors and will support this bill.

Bruce McDaniel
Downey