This year’s budget includes $5 million for Alzheimer’s disease research and $3.5 million for similar initiatives. And, the head of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs Sam Verghese says he’s very happy about that.
“There are people here that care and want to help engage in this issue,” he said. “I want to applaud Governor [Rick] Scott. I want to applaud the Legislature because there’s some additional funding that’s been put forward to help specific issues like this with Alzheimer’s Disease with dementia, and I want to thank them for that, millions of additional dollars.”
Joined by local and state officials, Verghese spoke to a group at the Tallahassee Senior Center. He announced the state’s Capital city and Leon County have been chosen to be the first to take part in a pilot project called the “Dementia Care and Cure Initiative.” The goal is to make more communities across Florida dementia-friendly. Verghese says Florida has the second highest incidence of Alzheimer’s in the nation.
Stay tuned to Friday's Capital Report for more on that story!
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