US FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO ACCELERATE EARLY DETECTION OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Ten U.S. Healthcare Systems Will Refine an Early Detection Blueprint for Primary Care Settings

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC), a pioneering worldwide initiative seeking to cure Alzheimer’s disease and improve brain health, today announced the launch of its U.S. Early Detection Fellowship Program, an initiative to support health systems in implementing early detection of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease in primary care settings across the United States. As Americans have learned from their experience with cancer, detecting Alzheimer’s in a timely manner is important in extending life and saving healthcare costs. The costs of caring for people living with Alzheimer's and other dementias are projected to reach $360 billion — in 2024 alone — not including the value of unpaid caregiving.

“Enabling our healthcare systems to detect cognitive impairment at the earliest stages is crucial to our national goal of treating and effectively preventing Alzheimer’s. This program will improve our ability better to identify those who need access to treatment and support, others who may want advice on reducing the hypertension, diabetes, obesity and lifestyle factors that can exacerbate dementia, and still others for whom their cognitive symptoms are the result of other reversible causes,” said George Vradenburg, founding chairman of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative.

Ten U.S. healthcare systems, representing a diverse cross-section of healthcare delivery models, geographic regions, and patient populations, have been selected to participate in this healthcare system fellowship program.

“By partnering with diverse healthcare systems in real-world clinical settings through this fellowship program, we're refining a blueprint for early detection that can be implemented nationwide,” said Tim MacLeod, Ph.D., director of DAC’s Healthcare System Preparedness program. “Our goal is to transform how cognitive impairment is identified and addressed in primary care, ultimately improving outcomes for millions of Americans.”

The selected healthcare systems are:
 CommonSpirit Health (Illinois)
 Emory University/Emory Healthcare (Georgia)
 Family Health Centers of Southern Indiana
 Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
 NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
 Penn Medicine (University of Pennsylvania)
 SCAN Health Plan (California)
 UMass Memorial Health – Harrington
 University of Texas Southwestern/Parkland Health
 Virtua Health and Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine (New Jersey)

Each site will receive seed funding to support the implementation of early detection programs, along with comprehensive coaching and technical assistance on program delivery from DAC experts based on the DAC Healthcare System Preparedness Early Detection Blueprint. The program will run through Q1 2026, with participants engaging in monthly virtual community of practice meetings to share learnings and identify and solve common operational barriers.

Key objectives of the US Fellowship Program include:
• Identifying and collaborating with 10 diverse health systems to create new early detection programs in primary care settings.
• Providing resources and catalytic assistance through targeted funding and support.
• Delivering DAC Early Detection Blueprint-based training.
• Evaluating and adapting the Blueprint to create a US-specific version for broader national implementation.

Additionally, DAC is pleased to announce that the Alliance to Improve Dementia Care from the Milken Institute Future of Aging is joining the U.S. Early Detection Fellowship Program as a strategic partner to bring their extensive experience in policy transformation and multisector partnerships to the initiative. Please see the Milken Institute’s recently launched report on Improving Early Detection of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.

About the DAC Healthcare System Preparedness Program
The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Healthcare System Preparedness (DAC-SP) Program addresses the readiness of our healthcare systems worldwide for a global aging population, with an initial focus on improving rates of early detection and the timely and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. DAC-SP applies implementation science methods to turn research breakthroughs into lasting improvements in clinical practice. To accelerate and scale the delivery of cutting-edge treatments and innovations globally, DAC-SP shares learnings and best practices through Learning Laboratory meetings and its Early Detection Blueprint. In collaboration with our partners around the world, DAC-SP serves as a catalyst for transformative improvement within healthcare systems.

About the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative
The Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative (DAC) is a pioneering worldwide initiative to cure Alzheimer’s disease and improve brain health, seeking to mirror the success of global efforts against infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Covid, and Malaria. DAC is extending global research beyond its current focus on traditional Western European ethnic populations into the highly diversified populations of the Global South, where the vast majority of those with Alzheimer’s live. By introducing lower-cost screening and diagnostic tools as well as new treatment and prevention modalities in primary care and community health settings, DAC is driving implementation of health system solutions that are appropriate for worldwide application. DAC also promotes the vital importance of brain health throughout the lifespan by addressing cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, especially in early and mid-life. Absent effective action at scale around the world, by 2050, more than 150 million families and half a billion people will be personally impacted by dementia, creating a social, financial, economic, and global security disaster of historic proportions. DAC was launched in Davos in 2021 by the World Economic Forum and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease. For more information, please visit: davosalzheimerscollaborative.org.

Susan Oliver
Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative
+1 703-216-4078
soliver@davosalzheimerscollaborative.org
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