Florida Awareness Day

Nine years ago, the Alzheimer's Association spearheaded the designation of Feb. 6 as "Florida Alzheimer's Day." This day, approved by the Florida Legislature, is to raise public awareness about the disease and to dedicate this day to persons and families coping with Alzheimer's.

While we commend the 2000 Legislature for approving this designation, the anniversary of the law is a reminder of how far we have to go to provide support for persons currently with the disease.

Florida has more than 500,000 persons living with Alzheimer's, including 4,935 residing in Highlands County. That number is skyrocketing because of the enormous number of baby boomers reaching at-risk age and an increasing number of persons with "early onset" younger people diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

The threat to so many Floridians should be enough to urge action. Unfortunately, many supportive Alzheimer's programs have been cut or completely eliminated because of the budget crisis. The governor and the Florida Legislature should make the "health and welfare" of Floridians their top priority. We encourage the Legislature to increase funding for the Memory Mobile service that provides support to families in rural areas, restart the life-saving program that trained law enforcement officers about dementia and searching for wanderers and increase funding the Alzheimer Respite program to eliminate the waiting list of more then 1,500 people. Join with me in telling Florida Legislature to remember persons and families living with Alzheimer's. It's time to care for our most vulnerable citizens.

Gloria Smith is the CEO and president of the Florida Gulf Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The Florida Gulf Coast Chapter serves 17 Florida counties where there is an estimated 187,000 persons living with Alzheimer's. There are only eight states in the U.S. with more cases of Alzheimer's disease than are in the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter's service region. For more information, contact Lisa Rodriguez at 385-3444.

Natalie Kelly
Alzheimer's Association
Sebring