Funding for Alzheimers

Continued from page A1 Action Plan, the establishment of the Florida Alzheimer’s Center for Excellence was part of the Freedom First Budget signed last year by the governor.

At the time, the funding marked a nearly 60 percent increase from previous expenditures since the governor took office in 2019.

For most, the news should supersede, if just momentarily, party allegiances and the current political buzz about DeSantis’ U.S. Presidential candidacy.

The mid-day press event coincided with the recent news that the governor lags behind former President Donald Trump in poll numbers forecasting the Republican primary winner.

“The idea that DeSantis needs a shake-up is widely held among Republicans,” said NBC News, citing “roughly a dozen strategists and donors, affiliated with the campaign and not.”

First-care responders, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, Florida Sen. Keith Perry, Florida

Reps.

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County Commissioners Kathy Bryant and Michelle Stone, and Ocalabased healthcare professionals were in attendance.

Other speakers at the event included Michelle Branham, secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs; Cary Eyre, dementia director at the Florida Department of Elder Affairs; Jennifer Martinez, the executive director of Marion Senior Services; and Christina Ramos, administrator of Touching Hearts at Home.

“We’ve taken active steps to combat this issue, ranking No. 1 in the country for funding for Alzheimer’s and related dementia,” Nuñez said.

Branham, appointed by DeSantis to serve as the agency head for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs in December 2021, spoke on the prioritization of addressing the debilitating diseases.

An estimated 800,000 people provide unpaid care to a loved one with Alzheimer’s and dementia, said Branham, adding, “I’ve experienced firsthand the impact Alzheimer’s has on families and loved ones.”

Under Branham’s leadership, the department serves Florida’s older adults, providing services and support initiatives through Florida’s Aging Network.

Ramos, whose parents were in the audience, shared her personal journey as a caregiver at the agency event on Southwest 34th Avenue.

“Our inspiration was my Nana,” Ramos shared. “My grandmother was diagnosed with the awful disease approximately

Michelle Branham Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs

14 years ago and, at that time, it was the first time our family had encountered the decline of an aging loved one. It ripped our worlds upside down.” Ramos went on to describe how her grandmother went from a thriving, self-sufficient woman to a debilitated, dependent medical patient known as a “wandering risk.”

“Today, she cannot feed herself. She cannot speak. She just babbles,” Ramos said. “Unfortunately, she can’t tell you if she has an appetite or she has to use the restroom … I know that there are lots of people in this room today who deal with our seniors and those facing Alzheimer’s or dementia. The $12.5 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias to expand services at the 18 memory care disorder clinics here, and also to help other service