Alzheimer's Disease:

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is complex and debilitating. There is no cure for this illness. Once a person has been diagnosed with AD, they have been given a death sentence. The text begins with a discussion about AD and related disorders (RD). It talks about what the disease is, who discovered it and when. The discourse then focuses on family caregivers, the personal and financial demands made on them, burnout and there they might go to obtain further information on how best to cope with this life changing experience. The discussion then turns to those medical facilities that provide services to AD patients when they come to find they are in need of constant care. In this book, these medical facilities are called 'Centers of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease.' They are wonderful institutions staffed with capable persons who provide for the care, safety and well-being of their residents twenty-four hours a day, sven days a week. This care doesn't come cheap. It is very expensive and it's that issue which is at the heart of this book. Next, there is a peek inside the National Alzheimer's Project Act of 2011 and how it places a responsibility of the fifty states in developing comprehensive AD patient care programs. Studies reveal that the states are not financially able to assume this task. Nearly all fifty states are in dire financial straits. None of them are administrative or financially equipped to develop and manage an effective ADRD program. At the present time, the medical insurance industry is not prepared to meet financial challenges associated with AD. Those companies who provide health coverage to the public are of little help. Most are in a merger and acquisition mode and ignore developing AD health plans for policy holders. Two new financial products are introduced in chapter six. If these products are carefully designed and marketed, they could mitigate the ballooning costs associated with ADRD. Chapter seven discusses a number of ways to enact meaningful tax reform legislation that would help caregivers deal with the financial burden they face each day. Where applicable, this chapter also addresses healthcare facility property tax relief and other amenities that could reduce the cost of healthcare for AD patients. Concluding remarks summarize many of the wonderful accomplishments made by research and a number of colleges and universities as well as efforts being made by a number of the major pharmaceutical companies which focus on the treatment and hopeful cure for AD. While these activities are noble and worthy of recognition, for the most part, they are long-range programs. Immediate relief is needed now for caregivers and institutions that provide services for the well-bing and safety of those stricken with AD, and that's what this book is about. The Epilogue points out that the AD crisis in America is a global pandemic. Governments around the world are beginning to look at this medical issue first, as ethical matter, then how the medical industry views itself, the notion of self-governance, and as a moral obligation they have to their citizenry. Final remarks call for a transparent debate among medical industry chiefs and lawmakers to come to a consensus as to how best resolve the current medical crisis associated with ADRD.