Public Health Leaders Weigh In On Five-Year Road Map to Fight Alzheimer's Disease
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 16, 2013 -- David Hoffman, a national leader in the fight against Alzheimer's Disease, today addressed over 750 attendees at the International Alzheimer's Conference in Boston, calling on researchers and practitioners to collaborate together.
Selected to serve on the President's National Alzheimer's Plan, Hoffman has worked closely with the Alzheimer's Association and the CDC on developing a five-year strategy called, The Healthy Brain Initiative: The Public Health Road Map for State and National Partnerships, 2013-2018.
The Alzheimer's Association's Vice President, Robert Egge, noted that they have created "a tool for public health officials to improve the quality of life for families and advance cognitive health as a integral component of public health."
The Road Map included 300 stakeholders and was presented to more than 70 nations attending the conference. "Alzheimer's Disease is a 21st Century public health crisis and having this road map will help states and communities work together on the myriad of challenges facing families, systems and the economy," Hoffman stated.
The Road Map identifies 35 specific action items, across four domains that are aligned with the Essential Services of Public Health that state and local public health can execute on their own or with partners.
Specifically the map outlines ways to:
• Assure a competent workforce
• Educate and empower the nation
• Monitor and evaluate
• Develop policy and mobilize partnerships
As a leader in developing the Road Map and a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), Hoffman also serves as an associate professor at the University at Albany and in the New York State Health Department. "That level of state leadership and subject matter expertise is hard to find in any field," commented John Robitscher, CEO of NACDD.
Also helping to craft the Road Map, was NACDD, President-elect, Jill Meyers Geadelmann who serves as the Health Department's Chronic Disease Chief in Iowa.
"The goal of the Healthy Brain Initiative is to enhance understanding of the public health burden of cognitive impairment, help build evidence-based communications and programs, and translate that foundation into effective public health practices in states and communities," said Lynda Anderson, PhD, Director of the Healthy Aging Program at CDC.
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting chronic diseases through the work of its 3,000 health department members serving in all 50 states and US Territories. For more information about the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, visit http://www.chronicdisease.org.
John Patton, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, http://www.ChronicDisease.org, 770-458-7400 222, [email protected]
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