Florida Alzheimer’s advocate returns to Gainesville to announce the launch of a new initiative

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A Florida Alzheimer’s advocate has returned from Capitol Hill to Gainesville in light of Alzheimer’s & Brain Cancer awareness month.

Christina Ramos is the executive director of Touching Hearts at Home and represents Florida’s 3rd Congressional District at the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C.

Ramos has joined other advocates from all over the country to meet with members of congress and congressional staff to advocate for the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act.

ASAP is meant to improve access to testing for Alzheimer’s through Medicare coverage. This testing can help patients receive quicker answers, treatment, and access to clinical trials.

Ramos says this cause is personal to her. Her family started Touching Hearts at Home after feeling the devastations of their grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The organization helps older adults live safely with a 24/7 care team for medically complex seniors who want to stay living at home.

“My grandmother’s diagnosis took nearly three years,” said Ramos. “Families today should not have to endure the same journey when science has provided tools and an FDA approved blood test that can help deliver a diagnosis sooner.”

In honor of this month, Ramos is launching a national initiative called “One Call for #ALZ.” She says this campaign encourages Americans to contact their elected representatives every Friday in June from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time and ask them to support improvements to Alzheimer’s care, including the ASAP act.

“We are asking people across the country to take just a few minutes each Friday in June to raise their voices on behalf of the millions of Americans affected by Alzheimer’s disease,” said Ramos.

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