(HEALTH) Fitzgerald Lauds $1.85M BOLD Grant Awarded by the CDC

PITTSBURGH – County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced today that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $1.85 million in funding to the county. The funding, provided over the course of the next five years, will help the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and its partners create regional capacity to aid those impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

“We are extremely fortunate in this community to have so many older Americans who remain engaged and involved in our community. Providing resources so that they can continue to be active is an important part of our work at the county,” said Fitzgerald. “We also recognize that challenges remain, with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias impacting a growing number of people, particularly Black and low-income communities. We know that partnerships work and allow us to come together to address challenges, and the BOLD coalition and its work is no exception. Thank you to all of our partners for being part of this work. We can’t wait to see the strides you’ll make.”

Funding for this effort is being supported by the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act and has been awarded to ACHD as the grantee. Partners in this effort include the county’s Department of Human Services Area Agency on Aging, Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh-Dementia Friendly Greater Pittsburgh, Alzheimer’s Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter, and Jewish Healthcare Foundation-Dementia Friends Pennsylvania. ACHD and its partners will create a BOLD Coalition, funded through this grant, to enhance health equity and help address risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The effort will focus on Black and low-income communities using a public health approach and adopted the CDC’s Health Brain Initiative Road Map.

Over five years, the coalition will collaborate to improve health disparities, educate communities, health care providers, and other professionals and increase community-clinical access. Developing and implementing an Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias strategic plan includes various activities ranging from community outreach events, professional educational events, and dissemination of information and resources. The plan will include input from grassroots and faith-based organizations working on community health and education in Allegheny County.

“The majority of Baby Boomers are now older adults and one of the chronic health concerns they may have to deal with is Alzheimer’s or dementia,” explained ACHD Community and Family Health Deputy Director Dannai Wilson. “We need to address the possible expansion of Alzheimer’s and dementia cases now, otherwise, we may not have the ability to do so in the future.”

Recognizing the role that older Americans play in our community, Allegheny County has long encouraged the contributions of older adults to the vitality of our neighborhoods, networks, and lives. While the percentage of our population over the age of 65 (19.7 percent) is large, the county has focused on efforts to allow seniors to age in place. Ensuring that the county meets the needs of our seniors, and also addressing those issues that impact healthy outcomes such as poverty, disability, and racial and gender disparities, is integral to the work done here.

Data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 2020 identified Alzheimer’s disease as the seventh leading cause of death in Allegheny County. Additionally, in 2021, 10 percent of adults 45 years and older experienced “more frequent or worsening confusion or memory loss in the past year.”

“Alzheimer’s and dementia related diseases take a heavy toll not only on the individual with the illness, but also families, friends and caregivers,” remarked Wilson. “Through the BOLD grant we will be able to create a community that encompasses a multi-generational approach that supports older adults and those who care for them.”

The selection of Allegheny County for the CDC’s BOLD Public Health Program Grant will allow the Health Department and its community partners to further the goals it laid out in the Plan for a Healthier Allegheny, 2023-2027. Specifically, the grant will help the county decrease disparities in life expectancy and chronic disease.