AMWA Joins WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s for the We Won’t Wait Campaign Launch – May 13, 2016
AMWA leadership joined WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s for the We Won’t Wait Campaign Launch Luncheon on May 13, 2016. Key speakers included Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, George and Trish Vradenburg (founders of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s), Jill Lesser and Brooks Kenny (President and Executive Director of WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s), Ros DeVol (Chief Research Officer, Milken Institute), and Meryl Comer (President, Geoffrey Beene Alzheimer’s Initiative, Co-Founder WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s).
Participating organizations included: American Medical Women’s Association, Caregiver Action Network, Daughterhood, Disruptive Women in Health Care, Eli Lilly & Co., Faegre BD Consulting, Geoffrey Beene Alzheimer’s Institute, Hadassah, HealthyWomen, Hilgos Foundation, Hispanic Council on Aging, Jewish Women International, LeadingAge, Milken Institute, National Alliance for Caregiving, National Consumer’s League, National Council of Women’s Organizations, Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, Office of Women’s Health, Society for Women’s Health Research, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, Women’s Heart Alliance, and WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s.
Key Points:
- We Won’t Wait Campaign – a call to action by WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s with collaborating organizations to bring to light the economic injustice that women face when they experience Alzheimer’s either as the patient or the caregiver.
- Women are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s as men, making up two thirds of the 5.4 million people in the U.S. slowly dying with the disease.
- Women are two thirds of the caregivers.
- It is estimated that the number of women with dementia and those serving as informal caregivers will cost the economy a cumulative $5.1 trillion dollars through 2040.
Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, AMWA Chief Diversity Officer and co-leader of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center Clinical Core in Chicago, is AMWA’s liaison to the WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s Initiative.
