$250,000 For Alzheimer’s Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Connecticut will receive a $250,000 federal grant to provide a wide array of services to persons in various stages of Alzheimer’s disease and their families, Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman announced this week.

The Connecticut Department of Social Services will use the funds to develop and implement new community-based approaches to care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families.

The grant was provided through the Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging’s Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants to States Program. Connecticut is one of only seven states chosen for this pilot project. The grant is aimed at expanding and improving the services available to individuals with Alzheimer’s, as well as educating low-income, minority, and rural communities traditionally underserved on the affects of Alzheimer’s.

The monies will be used to provide population-specific brochures, adequate health evaluation and assessment tools, as well as training and treatment manuals to health and social service agencies and other entities providing important services to those in need.

Up to four million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible disorder of the brain, robbing those who have it of their memory, and eventually, their overall mental and physical function, eventually leading to death.