Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure (BOLD) Grant The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) selected Allegheny County’s BOLD Public Health Program Grant for funding. This grant will help the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) create regional capacity to aid those impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The BOLD Public Health Program Grant provides $1.85 million in funding over the course of five years. The Allegheny BOLD Coalition, which will be created through this grant, aims to enhance health equity and build the county’s dementia infrastructure by addressing risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, focusing on Black and low-income communities. 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. Allegheny County is one of the oldest regions in the United States, with 19.7 percent of the population being 65 years and older. The county has the second largest population of older adults among the 40 largest U.S. counties, second only to Palm Beach, Florida. Allegheny County’s population has aged mainly in place, and this trend is anticipated to continue.
By 2050 the population aged 85 and older is projected to increase by more than 27,000 or 85 percent compared to current levels. Data 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.” 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.
15
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator