Officials Recognize Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month Numerous governors, state legislatures, and local officials recognized June as Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month (ABAM), helping raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and encouraging people to talk about brain health. Governors in Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oregon officially endorsed the need to address Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias while legislatures in Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania took similar action. In Montana, Governor Steve Bullock held a press conference during ABAM to promote the upcoming release of the Montana Alzheimer’s & Dementia State Plan. State Policy Roundtable Highlighted Alzheimer's Disease State legislators discussed policies and strategies to better equip their states to handle Alzheimer’s disease at a roundtable discussion this week during the Council of State Governments’ (CSG) Midwestern Legislative Conference. The discussion was led by Jennifer Rosen, Associate Director of State Affairs for the Alzheimer’s Association and featured Tom Hlavacek, Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter. Hlavacek highlighted recent legislative successes in Wisconsin in which three bills to increase access to support services and enhance crisis services for people with dementia were signed into law by Governor Scott Walker. These bills were part of the Wisconsin Cares package, introduced by the Wisconsin Assembly Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia, to improve care for individuals with dementia and provide community-based resources and education for caregivers. The CSG Midwestern Legislative Conference was held July 17-20, 2016 in Milwaukee, WI. For more information on the Alzheimer’s policy roundtable, contact Jennifer Rosen (jrosen@alz.org). Advocate Impact Spotlight

Dan & Barb Johnson, Wisconsin Since Barb Johnson’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2012, she and her husband and care partner, Dan, have participated in many Alzheimer’s Association programs and services, calling them a lifeline. Barb and Dan have been engaged in advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels, including attending the past three Wisconsin state rally days and the last two Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forums in Washington, D.C. Barb and Dan have been integral in efforts to gain support from their state legislators for increased funding for respite care, a dementia crisis unit pilot program, and the expansion of dementia crisis units in underserved rural areas of Wisconsin. Barb, a former journalist, is the author of “Barb’s Buzz,” a monthly blog about her journey with Alzheimer’s disease, often highlighting her and Dan’s advocacy work. Barb and Dan are great examples of how individuals living with the disease and their care partners can actively work to implement change through advocacy. Do you have a constituent who is part of the movement to end Alzheimer’s now? Do you know of a state official who has been a particular champion on the issue? Would you like to honor an advocate in your state by sharing his/her story? If so, please email Jennifer Rosen at jrosen@alz.org to have your constituent’s story considered for the next “Advocate Impact Spotlight.”