Mission

The Alzheimer’s Association reports that more than 44,000 West Virginians (aged 65 and over) have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In fact, 5.3 million Americans currently suffer from AD. Today, the inevitable outcome for each of these patients is terminal. Every 70 seconds another American contracts the disease. It has become the 6th leading cause of death in America and is the fastest growing cause of death among the top 6 diseases.

More than any other disease, the socio-economic impact of AD is profoundly disturbing. This year, nearly 85,000 West Virginians will be caregivers for AD patients at a cost of over $800 million in direct costs and lost wages. These family members and friends struggle to tend to loved ones and balance the other requirements of raising families and work. This struggle combined with the costs for caregivers will last for years, even decades. Nationally, these numbers underscore similar urgency: 9.8 million caregivers at a cost of nearly $95 billion. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates the total annual cost to Americans of this disease (patients and caregivers) at $148 billion. The psychological and physical strain of care giving can sometimes unravel families. Bathing, incontinence, confusion, disorientation, agitation, physical resistance and violence leave their toll on both patient and caregiver.

Like the disease itself, diagnosis, treatment and care giving can sometimes be confusing. Today, there is no reliable early diagnosis for the disease and there is no cure or reliable treatment. Families are sometimes embarrassed to admit that a loved one is going through the disease until later in the progression, and more often than not, they don’t know who to turn to for information, guidance and help. This gap in understanding how to diagnose and treat the patient and how to empower the care giver is one of the most important challenges in our understanding of AD and its impact.

The mission of the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Project (AORP) is to provide the West Virginia health care provider community with diagnostic and therapeutic tools to improve diagnosis, treatment and care of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in West Virginia. The program’s intensified education effort, lead to the creation of two Continued Medical Education (CME) sessions; CME 1, is geared for physicians on diagnosis and treatment and CME 2, to help physicians, other healthcare providers and social service professionals to connect caregivers to local resources, education and support.. The Alzheimer’s Disease Registry will be detailed at the CME sessions and follow-up will take place by BRNI. Each program will consist of the two CME classes (1 and 2) with each class running one hour. The total time per program is 2 hours.