Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Monday, May 2, 2005

COLUMBIA, MO –Senator Kit Bond today toured the Boone County Senior Citizen Service Corporation’s (the Bluffs) current Alzheimer’s treatment facilities and met with local leaders and caregivers regarding the facility’s future needs.

"Alzheimer's can be a cruel and most undignified disease that is equally as hard on family and caregivers as it is on the patient," said Bond. "The Bluffs has a proposal to lessen the strain on both patients and families living with Alzheimer's. Their commitment to learning more about how to care most effectively for these patients is inspiring and I am excited to learn more about their proposal."

Bond praised the Bluffs, Boone County’s not-for-profit skilled nursing facility, for their dedication to caring for families afflicted by Alzheimer’s and their innovative plans to meet the growing needs in the community. The plan, in conjunction with the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the Sinclair School of Nursing, will include a 24 bed Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

In February, Bond conducted a statewide tour of Missouri to raise awareness on the need for further Alzheimer’s research and to stress the importance of his his legislation, the Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act. Bond and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) introduced this legislation as a living memorial to President Reagan. The Bond-Mikulski bill will provide vital help to caregivers, double funding for Alzheimer’s research at NIH and increase public education about possible prevention of Alzheimer’s.

The provisions of the Bond-Mikulski bill will:

1) Double funding for Alzheimer’s Research at the National Institute of Health;

2) Increase funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program to $250 million;

3) Reauthorize the Alzheimer’s Demonstration Grant Program that provides grants to states to fill in gaps in Alzheimer’s services such as respite care, home health care, and day care;

4) Authorize $1 million for the Safe Return Program to assist in the identification and safe, timely return of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias who wander off from their caregivers;

5) Establish a public education campaign about prevention techniques;

6) Establish a $3,000 tax credit for caregivers to help with the high health costs of caring for a loved one at home; and

7) Encourage families to prepare for their long term needs by providing an above-the-line tax deduction for the purchase of long term care insurance.