Founding Partner AbbVie Foundation and Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott provide Anchoring Investments

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Direct Relief today announced the formation of its Fund for Health Equity with $75 million raised against a goal of $150 million. The Fund will be steered by an Advisory Council with deep connections and experience in communities in which the effects of historic racism and socioeconomic disparities persist. The members are:

• Co-Chair Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, 18^th U.S. Surgeon General of the United States, Founder BayouClinic, Inc.
• Co-Chair Byron Scott, MD, MBA, Board Director of Direct Relief and Chair of its Medical Advisory Council
• Martha Dawson, DNP, MSN, RN, FACHE, President and CEO President of the National Black Nurses Association, Associate Professor the University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Jane Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health
• Gail Small, JD, Head Chief Woman, a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe

A key aim of the Fund over the initial five-year period is to provide financial support to community health centers and free & charitable clinics, as well as other community-based organizations and educational institutions that focus on non-clinical matters and circumstances that strongly affect a person’s health – physical environment and social, political, cultural, and economic factors – commonly known as the social determinants of health. The Fund will invite applications at a later date.

Initial anchoring support for the Fund has been provided by long-term partner AbbVie, which announced in December its contribution as part as part of its larger social investment, and by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This month the NBA also announced its support as part of NBA All-Star 2021, and the Fund welcomes others to join the efforts.

Direct Relief provides extensive, ongoing charitable support to over 2,000 such organizations across the U.S. with donations of essential medications for patients without insurance or means to pay, and also during emergencies. This experience has highlighted the lack of complementary philanthropic financial support in amounts and with flexibility that would enable groups with proven effectiveness and the earned trust of communities to build upon successful programs or try promising new ones – opportunities that the Fund will seek to fulfill.

“Direct Relief is profoundly grateful for the extraordinarily generous financial resources already provided to the Fund for Health Equity and for the guidance offered by distinguished members of the Advisory Council who have devoted their lives to promoting health equity,” said Direct Relief’s CEO Thomas Tighe. “This effort will in no way detract from the immediate, necessary work that remains to be done as the Covid pandemic rages, but it will help shape for the better what exists when we emerge from the pandemic by providing support to those who know best what can make a difference.”

About Direct Relief: A humanitarian organization committed to improving the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies, Direct Relief delivers lifesaving medical resources throughout the world to communities in need—without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. Over the past year, Direct Relief’s stepped-up efforts in the U.S. have provided $350 million in assistance – $50 million in emergency financial assistance and $300 million in material aid in the form of PPE, medications, and essential supplies such as oxygen concentrators – to 2,841 organizations serving communities hit hardest by the pandemic. Those efforts remain ongoing. For more information, please visit https://www.DirectRelief.org.

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SOURCE Direct Relief

MIAMI, March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Solis Health Plans (Solis) is pleased to announce its accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. The accredited status applies to Solis’ Medicare Advantage HMO plans, indicating to members and providers that the plan is well managed, delivering high-quality care and service. Solis is currently the only new Medicare entrant based in South Florida with health plan accreditation (interim or otherwise) from NCQA.

“NCQA is the gold standard of health care quality assessment and we are proud to achieve this rating,” said Solis CEO Daniel Hernandez. “The accreditation showcases our commitment to providing exceptional plans and service for our members, along with a dedication to continuous improvement.”

Simply stated, an NCQA accreditation is about achieving and maintaining excellence in the member health care experience. Accreditation confirms that standards of quality are met in supporting the health care needs of Solis’ at-risk population through a framework of standards. These standards certify the delivery of quality care and member connections, coordination of care, meeting members’ cultural and linguistic needs, and ensuring the member experience and access to care is of the highest standard.

NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and manages the evolution of HEDIS® (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set), the performance measurement tool used by more than 90 percent of the nation’s health plans to evaluate their performance in terms of clinical quality and customer service. HEDIS is a set of standardized performance measures designed to ensure that purchasers and consumers have the information they need to reliably compare the healthcare quality.

NCQA Health Plan Accreditation is a widely recognized, evidence-based program dedicated to quality improvement and measurement. It provides a comprehensive framework for organizations to align and improve operations in areas that are most important to states, employers, and consumers. It’s the only evaluation program that bases results on actual measurement of clinical performance (HEDIS® measures) and consumer experience (CAHPS® measures).

About Solis Health Plans
Solis Health Plans is a community-focused Florida Medicare Advantage health plan delivering outstanding member experience and exceptional service to its members, providers, and brokers and offers competitive plans with expanded benefits in multiple counties. The company is locally based and self-identifies as the Un-Corporate Plan: personal as opposed to bureaucratic, innovative instead of risk-averse, and accountable rather than ambiguous. Solis Health Plans is committed to exceeding expectations and to being the plan of choice for the communities served, with the goal of achieving better healthcare outcomes.

For more information on Solis Health Plans, please visit www.solishealthplans.com.

Solis Health Plans is an HMO with a Medicare contract and a contract with the Florida Medicaid Program for dually-eligible beneficiaries. Enrollment in Solis Health Plans depends on contract renewal.

About NCQA
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of healthcare organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more-informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

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SOURCE Solis Health Plans, Inc.

MIAMI and NEW YORK, March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Parkinson’s Foundation announced the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is a new site for PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease, a first-of-its-kind national initiative that offers genetic testing and counseling for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) at no cost. The new testing site is made possible by a $1 million grant from the Sharron and Joseph Ashby Hubert Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward to support participation for Broward County residents. Genetic testing and counseling through PD GENEration are available in English and Spanish both in-person at the university’s medical school and online.  

“We are truly grateful for the generosity shown by the Sharron and Joseph Ashby Hubert Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward to help us expand the PD GENEration program to better serve the Parkinson’s community in South Florida,” said John L. Lehr, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation. “This program will help people with PD better understand their diagnosis while improving Parkinson’s care by accelerating and supporting research.”

Scientists will use the genetic testing results obtained through this study for future research to develop improved treatments and personalized medicine for Parkinson’s. The study also aims to help people with PD and their physicians identify whether they may qualify for enrollment in certain clinical trials based on their test results. University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, one of 33 designated medical centers in the U.S. with a specialized Parkinson’s care team that practices the latest treatments and research while providing the best care. The study is led by Dr. Carlos Singer, MD, Professor of Neurology and Founding Director of the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“I’m participating in PD GENEration because I know that the more information we can gather about Parkinson’s disease, the closer we can get to finding better treatments and ultimately, a cure,” said Rick Friedland, patient research advocate. “This is also an opportunity for me to not just deal with symptoms, but also support real progress for the Parkinson’s community.”

PD GENEration is the first national initiative to offer genetic testing for clinically relevant Parkinson’s-related genes and genetic counseling at no cost for people with a confirmed diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The goal of PD GENEration is to improve Parkinson’s care by accelerating and supporting research to advance improved treatments and personalized medicine.

“With such a high concentration of people with Parkinson’s in South Florida, we are proud to fuel this vital and necessary research with a landmark grant from the Sharron and Joseph Ashby Hubert Fund,” said Amanda Kah, Charitable Funds Services Manager at the Community Foundation of Broward. “This cutting-edge research could potentially change the lives of so many people in our community.”

To learn more about PD GENEration, call 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636) or visit Parkinson.org/PDGENEration. For questions about enrollment, email [email protected].

About the Parkinson’s Foundation 
The Parkinson’s Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson’s disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience and passion of our global Parkinson’s community. For more information, visit www.parkinson.org or call (800) 4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About Parkinson’s Disease 
Affecting nearly one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson’s and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

Contact: Mona Clifton, [email protected]

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SOURCE Parkinson’s Foundation

CHICAGO, March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Findings from two national surveys appearing in the Alzheimer’s Association 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report reveal that discrimination is a barrier to Alzheimer’s and dementia care. More than one-third of Black Americans (36%), and nearly one-fifth of Hispanic Americans (18%) and Asian Americans (19%), believes discrimination would be a barrier to receiving Alzheimer’s care. In addition, half or more of non-White caregivers say they have experienced discrimination when navigating health care settings for their care recipient.

The 2021 Facts and Figures report provides an in-depth look at the latest national statistics on Alzheimer’s prevalence, incidence, mortality, costs of care and impact on caregivers. For the first time, the accompanying special report, “Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer’s” examines perspectives and experiences of Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native and White Americans in regard to Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

Findings in the report, reveal that non-White racial/ethnic populations expect and experience more barriers when accessing dementia care, have less trust in medical research and are less confident that they have access to health professionals who understand their ethnic and racial background and experiences. Among the findings:

• Two-thirds of Black Americans (66%) believe it is harder for them to get excellent care for Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Likewise, 2 in 5 Native Americans (40%) and Hispanic Americans (39%) believe their own race or ethnicity makes it harder to get care, as do one-third of Asian Americans (34%).
• Nearly two-thirds of Black Americans (62%) believe that medical research is biased against people of color — a view shared by substantial numbers of Asian Americans (45%), Native Americans (40%) and Hispanic Americans (36%) as well. Only half of Black Americans (53%) trust a future cure for Alzheimer’s will be shared equally regardless of race, color or ethnicity.
• Fewer than half of Black (48%) and Native Americans (47%) feel confident they have access to providers who understand their ethnic or racial background and experiences, and only about 3 in 5 Asian Americans (63%) and Hispanics (59%) likewise feel confident.

“Despite ongoing efforts to address health and health care disparities in Alzheimer’s and dementia care, survey results show there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH. chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Alzheimer’s Association. “Clearly, discrimination, lack of diversity among health care professionals and mistrust in medical research create significant barriers to care and demand the country’s full attention.”

Episodes of discrimination, however, extend beyond Alzheimer’s and dementia care, the Alzheimer’s Association surveys found that many non-White Americans say they have experienced discrimination in the broader health care system. Specifically:

• Half of Black Americans (50%) report they’ve experienced discrimination when seeking health care; more than 4 in 10 Native Americans (42%) and one-third of Asian Americans (34%) and Hispanic Americans (33%) likewise report having experienced health care discrimination.

The experiences and views of discrimination expressed by respondents in both surveys are also reflected in their views on clinical trial participation.

Black Americans have less interest in clinical research trials to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. White Americans are most likely to express interest (82%), followed by Native Americans (81%), Hispanic Americans (78%), Asian Americans (73%) and lastly, Black Americans (67%).

The most common reason cited for not participating in clinical trials among all racial/ethnic groups is not wanting to be a “guinea pig.” This sentiment was especially strong among Black Americans (69%). In addition almost half of Black Americans (45%) worry that treatments might cause sickness. They are also twice as likely as other groups to say they “don’t trust medical research.” And they are more than twice as likely as other racial or ethnic groups to say they “might not be treated fairly.”

As noted in the 2021 Facts and Figures report, health and socioeconomic disparities and systemic racism contribute to increased Alzheimer’s and dementia risk in communities of color. According to the report, older Blacks and Hispanics are also disproportionately more likely to have Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In addition, both groups are more likely to have missed diagnoses than older Whites.

“We must continue to accelerate efforts to engage more people from underrepresented populations in Alzheimer’s disease research and clinical trials,’ said Maria Carrillo, Ph.D., chief science officer, Alzheimer’s Association. “If trials do not include diverse participants, it is impossible to get a complete understanding of how racial and ethnic differences may affect the benefit and safety of potential treatments. Future clinical trial structures and recruitment efforts must lead to a better representation of the entire population, so everyone benefits from advances in Alzheimer’s and dementia research.”

Impact of COVID-19

The report also examines the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on people living with Alzheimer’s. According to the report, there were at least 42,000 more deaths from Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 2020 compared with averages over the previous five years — a 16% increase.

The report highlights preliminary and anecdotal data indicating the COVID-19 pandemic is also having adverse effects on many family caregivers. It notes that pandemic-related caregiving challenges, including the shutdown of adult day care centers and the inability of families to visit or communicate with relatives in long-term care settings have caused “emotional distress and other negative outcomes among caregivers.” 

The Alzheimer’s Association and representatives from more than 30 countries have formed an international consortium to study the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain and nervous system in people at different ages, and from different genetic backgrounds.

2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures: At a Glance

Prevalence, Incidence and Mortality

• An estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021.
• More than 1 in 9 people (11.3%) age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Two-thirds of Americans over age 65 with Alzheimer’s dementia (3.8 million) are women.
• Deaths due to Alzheimer’s between 2000 and 2019, has more than doubled, increasing 145%.
• 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

Caregiving

• In 2020, more than 11 million caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias provided an estimated 15.3 billion hours of unpaid care, a contribution to the nation valued at $257 billion.
• Nearly half of all caregivers (48%) who provide help to older adults do so for someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
• Approximately two-thirds of caregivers are women, and one-third of dementia caregivers are daughters.
• Forty-one percent of caregivers have a household income of $50,000 or less.

Cost of Care

• In 2021, total payments for all individuals with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are estimated at $355 billion (not including unpaid caregiving).
• Medicare and Medicaid are expected to cover $239 billion or 67% of the total health care and long-term care payments for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Out-of-pocket spending is expected to be $76 billion.
• Total payments for health care, long-term care and hospice care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are projected to increase to more than $1.1 trillion in 2050.
• The total lifetime cost of care for someone with dementia is estimated at $373,527.

Additional data from the report is included below. Full text of the 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, including the accompanying special report, “Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer’s in America,” can be viewed at alz.org/facts. The report will also appear in the March 2021 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Other Key Findings from “Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer’s in America:”

• Concern about developing Alzheimer’s is lower among Native Americans (25%), Blacks (35%) and Hispanics (41%), especially when compared with Whites (48%).
• More than one-third of Native Americans (35%) and nearly 3 in 10 Hispanics (28%) do not believe they will live long enough to develop Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
• More than half of non-White Americans believe significant loss of memory or cognitive abilities is “a normal part of aging.”
• Hispanic, Black and Native Americans are twice as likely as Whites to say they would not see a doctor if experiencing thinking or memory problems.
• One in 5 Black (21%) and Hispanic Americans (20%) say they would feel insulted if a doctor suggested a cognitive assessment.
• Nearly 2 in 3 caregivers (64%) across all groups say that caregiving is stressful, but nearly all (92%) say caregiving is rewarding as well.

Updated Alzheimer’s Statistics

The Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures report also provides an annual look at the latest national statistics and information on Alzheimer’s prevalence, incidence, mortality and morbidity, costs of care and caregiving, both nationally and state-by-state.  

About 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures 

The Alzheimer’s Association 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report is a comprehensive compilation of national statistics and information on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The report conveys the impact of Alzheimer’s on individuals, families, government and the nation’s health care system. Since its 2007 inaugural release, the report has become the preeminent source covering the broad spectrum of Alzheimer’s issues. The Facts and Figures report is an official publication of the Alzheimer’s Association.

About the Survey

Versta Research conducted two surveys on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association: (1) U.S. adults and (2) current or recent caregivers of adults age 50 or older with cognitive issues. Respondents were asked about access to care and support services, trust in providers and the health care system, participation in clinical trials and research, and caregiver experiences. Surveys were conducted October 26 – November 11, 2020. Data was collected by NORC at the University of Chicago via the AmeriSpeak^® panel. AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel of all U.S. households. 

The survey included 945 White respondents. Oversamples of Hispanic (n=541), Black (n=515) and Asian Americans (n=412) were weighted back to their true population proportions for statistical analysis and reporting. For full inclusion of Native Americans, the same survey was administered to an additional sample of 406 Native Americans recruited through online (non-probability) panels with sampling stratified and data weighted on gender, age, income and education to match U.S. Census Bureau data. The surveys were offered in both English and Spanish. For complete details regarding survey methodology, see page 73 of the report.

About the Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association leads the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. For more information, visit alz.org or call the 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.

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SOURCE Alzheimer’s Association