AFA Set to Begin This Year’s ‘Educating America Tour’ to Raise Alzheimer’s Awareness Across the US

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) will begin its annual trek across the United States next month to raise disease awareness, promote early detection, and connect communities through education.

Now in its fourth year, the 2020 Educating America Tour will make its first stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Feb. 25, followed by visits to at least 11 more locations.

At each stop, participants can undergo quick and non-invasive confidential memory screenings to valuate memory, language, and thinking abilities. The test results — delivered on site — don’t equal a diagnosis, but they can signal a need to visit a specialist for full evaluation.

Each community visit also features a “Concepts in Care” educational conference in which attendees can learn from, and interact with, top Alzheimer’s experts. The conferences offer a disease overview, the latest in scientific developments, advice on creating a long-term care team, tips for caregivers, and information about therapeutic activities and brain health and wellness. Attendees can also learn about Alzheimer’s-related programs and support services available nationwide. All tour activities are free.

“Information is an invaluable tool,” said Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., AFA’s president and CEO, in a press release. “Educating people about Alzheimer’s disease, letting them know about the resources available to help, and empowering them with knowledge is critically important as the prevalence of the disease continues to grow across the country. If Alzheimer’s is in your life or you want to learn more about how to be proactive with your own brain health, we hope you will join us at one of these events.”

In addition to New Mexico, tour dates this year include Denver, Colorado, March 12; Bozeman, Montana, April 7; Salt Lake City, Utah, April 9; East Lansing, Michigan, April 30; Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 21; and New York, New York, June 16. Although dates have not yet been set, the tour will also make stops in Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Go here for more details and to register, or call the AFA at 866-232-8484.

Nearly six million U.S. residents have Alzheimer’s disease. As increasingly more people age, that figure is projected to more than double to 14 million by 2060.

The AFA provides support, services, and education to those affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementias, and funds research for better treatments and a possible cure.