HealthyWomen Launches Brain Health Coalition to Normalize Brain Health as Part of Midlife Care

A first-of-its-kind cross-sector initiative — convened by the nation's leading women's health information source — to drive systemic change in how Americans understand, access and act on brain health.

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthyWomen today announced the launch of the Brain Health Coalition, a cross-sector initiative bringing together employers, health systems, medical associations, research institutions, community organizations and patient voices to address one of the most urgent and underaddressed challenges in American health: the failure to treat Alzheimer's disease as a routine part of midlife care.

Alzheimer's-related brain changes can begin decades before a single symptom appears. Midlife is the most consequential window for intervention, yet it remains the most systematically ignored. This coalition is built to change that.

"Brain health has been treated as something to worry about later in life, when the evidence is clear that the time to act is decades earlier," said Beth Battaglino, CEO of HealthyWomen. "We are convening this coalition because the relationships, the reach and the urgency all point to now. This is about building the infrastructure for change — across sectors, across communities and for every American."

The Brain Health Coalition's connective infrastructure is designed to align existing efforts, amplify reach and fill the coordination gap that has kept siloed progress from achieving scale. Its membership spans every stakeholder with real influence over outcomes: employers who shape workforce health decisions, clinicians who set screening norms, insurers who determine what gets covered, researchers who establish the evidence base and community organizations that reach the people most at risk.

The coalition operates across three pillars simultaneously — perception, education and policy — because progress in one without the others does not hold. That integrated structure is what makes lasting, meaningful impact possible.

The coalition is guided by a founding steering committee that includes the Alzheimer's Association, the National Health Council (NHC), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), with support from founding strategic partners, including Eli Lilly & Company.

"We know that Alzheimer's-related brain changes can begin decades before a single symptom appears, and midlife is a critical window for taking action," said Katie Evans, chief programs and mission engagement officer at the Alzheimer's Association. "We're proud to stand alongside HealthyWomen and our fellow coalition members to build the cross-sector infrastructure that will help support a future where early screening is as routine as checking blood pressure or cholesterol."

HealthyWomen brings nearly 40 years of trusted relationships with patients, clinicians, policymakers and the broader health ecosystem to this effort. Nearly two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's are women, who also carry the majority of the caregiving burden. That reality shapes the coalition's design, from biological risk factors to equity gaps to lived experiences, and makes HealthyWomen the right convener for a coalition built to serve all Americans.

To learn more, visit BrainHealthCoalition.org.

About HealthyWomen: HealthyWomen is the nation's leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women. HealthyWomen.org was the first website to comprehensively address women's health and wellness issues and continues to educate women to make informed health decisions by providing objective, fact-based information. For nearly 40 years, women have turned to HealthyWomen for answers to their most important healthcare questions. To learn more, please visit www.HealthyWomen.org. Follow HealthyWomen on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

SOURCE HealthyWomen