Alzheimer's walk raises $30K - Reedsburg Times Press

A record 250 people took part in Saturday’s Sauk County Alzheimer’s Walk and raised nearly $30,000.

“That was exceptional,” said Carol Olson, an outreach specialist for the local Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin branch. “We are very pleased with the outpouring of support from the community this year.”

The record number of participants nearly matched last year’s fundraising record of $36,950. However, Olson said its normal for contributions to continue to come in after the walk.

Participants congregated at the Ochsner Park shelter in Baraboo before setting out on a route along the city’s Riverwalk. Baraboo Mayor Mike Palm, the honorary event chair, led the charge.

The annual event raises money for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia research and to help local families affected by memory disorders.

Dr. Brenda Reisdorph of Reedsburg, who helped establish a local geriatric assessment center, said deaths due to Alzheimer’s are on the rise and the fundraiser provides crucial assistance for those afflicted with the disease.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Alzheimer’s took 83,494 lives in 2010, making it the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

Nearly half of all seniors who need some form of long-term care — from help at home to full-time care in a facility — have dementia, according to the World Alzheimer Report. As the global population ages, the report said, the disease places enormous strain on families who provide the bulk of that care, at least early on. It also strains national economies.

This week, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced $45 million in new Alzheimer’s research, with most of the money focused on finding ways to prevent or at least delay the devastating disease. The Obama administration had hoped to invest $100 million in new Alzheimer’s research this year, a move blocked by budget cuts known as the sequester. Overall, the nation has been investing about $400 million a year in Alzheimer’s research.

But the disease’s financial toll is $200 billion a year in the U.S. alone, a tab expected to pass $1 trillion by 2050 in medical and nursing home expenditures — not counting unpaid family caregiving. The world report puts the global cost at $604 billion.

As researchers continue to look for a cure, Reisdorph said, another American develops Alzheimer’s every 68 seconds. The number of deaths due to the disease is expected to increase by 40 percent in the coming years.

She said Alzheimer’s robs individuals of their person-hood, leaving them with the hope that people will “look closer to see me.”

“That’s what we fight for in the battle against dementia,” Reisdorph said.