CVS Health Foundation Announces Grant to Increase Access to Provider Education and Diagnosis Program for Alzheimer's Disease

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Dec. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The CVS Health Foundation today announced a $550,000 commitment to the Alzheimer's Association, extending its support for a new program to enhance disease diagnosis and assessment with clinicians while also educating them about care and support programs available to help families following a diagnosis. The grant is being shared with six local Alzheimer's Association chapters and brings the Foundation's total contribution to more than $1 million since 2016.

"The CVS Health Foundation is proud to support the Alzheimer's Association in its effort to ensure that patients and caregivers receive the resources they need following an Alzheimer's diagnosis and are able to maintain a high-quality of life," said Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. "We've seen significant results following the first year of the program and look forward to working with the Alzheimer's Association to continue to fulfill our program's mission."

The new charitable commitment builds upon support from the CVS Health Foundation for a new program established in 2016 to increase diagnosis, disclosure and education for Alzheimer's disease. The six local chapters that have benefited from this support have all shown significant progress toward their goals of partnering with health care providers to enhance their ability to detect, diagnose, and care for individuals living with the disease and their caregivers, including:

• Broadened Physician Knowledge – Over 7,000 clinicians were educated on prevention, diagnosis, therapeutics and research related to Alzheimer's disease. The education was conducted both in person and virtually in the form of micro-learnings, CME events, office visits, staff trainings and multimedia campaigns.
• Increased Patient Referrals for Support Services - The six chapters increased patient referrals to the Alzheimer's Association's care and support resources from clinical health care professionals by 61 percent following diagnosis.
• Expanded Capacity – Each local chapter was able to expand their internal capacity through hiring of new staff, increased training for existing staff and better utilizing volunteers. As a result, the chapters were able to reach more clinicians, patients and caregivers affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Through the additional support of the CVS Health Foundation, the Central and North Florida, Desert Southwest, Greater Illinois, Massachusetts/New Hampshire, Northern California/Northern Nevada and Greater Missouri chapters will continue their work to expand health care provider outreach and expand automatic referral process for education and care consultations, with the goal of increasing the number of people in each chapter with access to care.

"The Alzheimer's Association greatly appreciates CVS Health Foundation's generous support of the Diagnose, Disclose, and Direct Connect Pilot Grant program," said Beth Kallmyer, Vice President, Care and Support, Alzheimer's Association. "The grants have been instrumental in launching innovative programs that are influencing provider behavior in terms of detecting and diagnosing dementia as well as educating physicians about the programs available for individuals and families impacted by this devastating disease."

The number of people living with Alzheimer's disease is expected to rise from over 5 million people today to more than 16 million by 2050, and costs are expected to rise as high as $1.1 trillion. Research shows effective health care provider outreach and education are essential for helping people with Alzheimer's disease achieve their best quality of life.

About the Alzheimer's Association

The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's. For more information, visit the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org or call the 24/7 helpline at 800-272-3900.

About the CVS Health Foundation

The CVS Health Foundation is a private charitable organization created by CVS Health that works to build healthier communities, enabling people of all ages to lead healthy, productive lives. The Foundation provides strategic investments to nonprofit partners throughout the U.S. who help increase community-based access to health care for underserved populations, create innovative approaches to chronic disease management and provide tobacco cessation and youth prevention programming. We also invest in scholarship programs that open the pathways to careers in pharmacy to support the academic aspirations of the best and brightest talent in the industry. Our philanthropy also extends to supporting our colleagues' spirit of volunteerism through Volunteer Challenge grants to nonprofits where they donate their time and fundraising efforts. To learn more about the CVS Health Foundation and its giving, visit www.cvshealth.com/social-responsibility.

Media Contact: Mary Gattuso, (401) 770-9811, [email protected]

SOURCE CVS Health Foundation