Guest Essays
The LEAD Coalition thanks colleagues for their time and expertise for the following guest essays. Please note that the views in guest essays are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LEAD Coalition.
It’s been one year since Medicare began reimbursing primary care physicians for assessments of cognitive impairment disorders and provision of care-coordination services. Given that research shows providers are not identifying cognitive impairment in up to 50 percent of their cognitively impaired patients — and that about 30 percent of patients who meet the criteria for dementia never receive a documented diagnosis — this is an important change.
The LEAD Coalition presents the twelfth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Aryana Khalid, a managing director at the Glover Park Group and an end of life advocate.
The LEAD Coalition presents the eleventh in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Dr. Victoria Walker, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and an APSA Congressional Health and Aging Policy Fellow.
The LEAD Coalition presents the tenth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Dr. Daniel Potts, a neurologist, author, educator and advocate for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and their caregivers.
The LEAD Coalition presents the ninth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from the Honorable Jim Greenwood, who is president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Greenwood’s essay provides context for BIO’s proposal for a longitudinal study as part of the 21st Century Cures initiative planned for introduction in the 114th Congress.
The LEAD Coalition presents the eighth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Harvard professor Dr. Reisa Sperling who lays out the case for the A4 Study (Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s), and a call to action for individuals and organizations to work collaboratively to recruit qualified volunteers to participate in this clinical trial aimed at secondary prevention of dementia.
The LEAD Coalition presents the seventh in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., chief executive officer of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, who examines how more efficient care delivery models and enhanced supports can achieve remarkable cost savings and better health outcomes.
The LEAD Coalition presents the sixth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Lynda Everman who shares her deeply personal story of transforming from isolated caregiver to relentless activist while encouraging others to join the movement to stop Alzheimer’s disease.
The LEAD Coalition presents the fifth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Stephanie Johnson Monroe, director of the African American Network Against Alzheimer’s, which unites and mobilizes the powerful voice of the African-American community to speed the pace of research and build real momentum to end Alzheimer’s disease.
The LEAD Coalition presents the fourth in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Paul Rusk, executive director of Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin. Through Rusk’s leadership, the organization’s experienced staff and community volunteers deliver services that focus people living with dementia and their care partners on joy, communication and what they can do, rather than on fear, retreat into isolation and what has been lost.
The LEAD Coalition presents the third in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from MaryAnne Sterling. She explores the life of family caregivers in the shadows, and opportunities to offer them much-needed support and improve the health care system.
The LEAD Coalition presents the second in its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Mary Woolley, president of Research!America the nation’s largest nonprofit alliance working to make research for health a higher national priority. Woolley asks whether the hope, promise and genuine opportunities for cutting-edge brain research will be dashed by federal budget-slashing fever gripping Washington, D.C.
The LEAD Coalition debuts its series of guest essays with an op-ed from Mike Splaine, a Washington, D.C. health policy and advocacy consultant who has devoted the past two decades of his career to building grassroots capacity for the emerging Alzheimer’s disease movement. In this poignant and no-holds-barred essay, Splaine confronts the ageism and stigma impeding progress against this devastating disease.