Guest Author - Lee S. Williams

President Bush’s budget for 2008 fell short in one major category near and dear to our hearts. He cut funding for scientific research, and he cut funding for essential services for those who have debilitating and terminal diseases, which include many of us. Of increasing concern is the threat of Alzheimer’s and senile dementia, which many people often mistake for Alzheimer’s.

Of immediate concern to the Alzheimer’s Association is the slashing of federal funding to research programs that will assist in developing innovations for the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s patients. This lack of research could affect the increasing Alzheimer care to patients with the influx of the baby boomer population. Those of us who are “AARP approved” may be the ones feeling the crunch of this lack of funding.

Such a scenario, for the Alzheimer’s Association who states that they seek an Alzheimer-free society, is frightening. With some 77 million baby boomers, the projections for the increase in Alzheimer’s are staggering and without financing for research and service programs, the Alzheimer’s Association projects that Medicare costs will exceed $50 billion dollars, once a projected 16 million baby boomers acquire the disease.

The other main concern that the Alzheimer’s Association states is the decrease in federal funding for such programs as Safe Return (name is a registered trademark). This program, run by the Justice Department, has had a 98% success rate in returning wandering loved ones who have been registered with them.

The concern is real. With the aging of America, we need to let our congressional representatives know that we may be aging, but we all aren’t senile, at least not yet.

To read of the Alzheimer’s Association’s budget concerns follow the first link below. To write your representatives, follow the second link and third links. They will take you to the authorized government pages where you can email both your senators and your representatives.