3 FEBRUARY 2021 - CLUB MEETING VIA ZOOM
Four Way Test: Stuart Gold
Invocation: Pastor Marc Stutzel
Members Present: Dan Antokal, June Bertini, Terry Ciulla, Bernie Cohen, Jan Doornbosch, Stuart Gold, Steve Hopper, Linda Hanlon, Marc Stutzel, Linda Wells, Peter Wells
Visiting Rotarians and Guests: Aaron DeNicola, Karen Golden, Eda Tekeoglu
Announcements:
- Our Super Bowl pool is nearly sold out; please continue to encourage people to join.
- Instead of a regular meeting club next week (Thu, 2/10) we will move our meeting to Fri, 2/11 for a “virtual” social event. Members are encouraged to join in the virtual wine tasting event sponsored by the Park Ridge High School OpGrad; Flyer below or email shannonrutowski@gmail.com or dwalter 0531@gmail.com to register.
- The next Board meeting is Tuesday, February 15; all are invited.
- Nominations are open for the Arthur Fenniman Award – background info: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50049/stories/arthur-fenniman-award
- The Park Ridge 125 Anniversary Gala is scheduled for April 29; several members have already signed up to attend the event, which is $95 per person who get tickets before March 1. The Board will consider buying an advertising page at their February meeting.
Program 
On February 3, 2022 on a virtual meeting via Zoom, Park Ridge Rotary members welcomed Karen Golden and Aaron DeNicola of The Alzheimer’s Association. Karen is the AIM New Jersey Advocacy Manager and Aaron is an AIM ambassador serving NJD-5 Their vision is a world without Alzheimer’s disease and all other dementia.
Karen and Aaron were introduced by Terry Ciulla. Terry is very active in the Association and her mother was an Alzheimer’s victim. They began by thanking Terry for all her efforts as well as those of our Club, including Dan and Vicky who joined in the recent Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
The Alzheimer’s Association provides a variety of services. Care and support includes a free 24/7 helpline, support groups and online caregiver communities. Research includes an international research grant program and efforts to bring global research leaders together. The Association’s awareness activities include educational programs and workshops. Its government advocacy efforts include the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) and steps to ensure legislative policy (State and National) reflects the urgency of the crisis.
As a leader in public policy the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) advances and develops policies to overcome Alzheimer’s disease through increased investment in research, enhanced care and improved support. The past decade of milestones achieved by Alzheimer’s Association & A.I.M. victories in Alzheimer’s/Dementia Policy include:
- Hosting hundreds of community events to provide input to the federal government for the plan.
- Paving the way for NAPA, which has fundamentally changed the way the nation addresses Alzheimer’s and all dementia types by mandating the creation of a national plan a more cohesive strategy to address Alzheimer’s disease.
- In 2014 AIM advanced the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act to facilitate Congress hearing directly from NIH scientists on the resources needed. Today, funding for Alzheimer’s research at NIH is $3.1 billion annually, representing more than a seven-fold increase in research since NAPA passed.
- In 2017 the Association and AIM conceived and championed the Hope for Alzheimer’s Act, and in January 2017 CMS (Medicare/Medicaid) started to cover cognitive and functional assessments and care planning.
- In 2018 the Association and AIM worked with bipartisan Congressional champions to develop and advance the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act.
- In 2020 the groups developed and grew support for new legislation, including the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act, Improving Hope for Alzheimer’s Act, and Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act.
- Current policy priorities include equitable access to breakthrough treatments. Newly FDA approved drug for Alzheimer’s disease is currently being held in red tape, need Medicare/Medicaid Center approval to cover costs . There are 2 -3 potential medications in clinical trial
If interested anyone can sign up for Advocacy Alerts for opportunities to voice support for policy priorities. Text ALZGN to 52886.
