| Columbus, GA – Columbus Memory Center has been chosen to receive a $150,000 grant to promote the safeguards, benefits, and honesty of today’s FDA approved Alzheimer’s research trials to Columbus’ minority communities. “Columbus Memory Center already out-performs most of the nation’s Alzheimer’s research centers in both patient recruitment and minority inclusion” according to its Medical Director, Dr. Jonathan Liss. “For this reason, along with our innovative approaches that include: ‘Ask the Memory Doctor’ town halls, ‘Think Tank” outreach van, ‘Columbus Memory Project’, and the invention of the first ever vital sign for the brain, the ‘Memory Number,’ that we have been awarded this grant”, noted Dr. Liss. Successful outreach practices that are funded by this grant will be shared with medical centers around this country and the world.
Last year the Alzheimer’s Association acknowledged that the African American community is nearly twice as likely, and the Hispanic community is one and a half times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias than the white population of the same age. However, both African American and Hispanic communities are less likely to participate in Clinical Research due to lack of information and distrust towards the system.
For the recent FDA approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, only three percent of participants were Latino, and less than one percent Black. “As a nation, and as a community, we must do better”, noted Dr. Liss. “Columbus Memory Center is pleased to note that our typical enrollment of minorities ranges from 19-24%. We can do better for our community and have created an innovative plan to do so. I believe this is why we were the first site to receive this grant”
In the coming months, Columbus Memory Center will be collaborating with city leaders, Georgia educators, area churches, as well as hosting Town Hall meetings to flood the community with important information about meaningful Alzheimer’s research safeguards and opportunities. These encounters will acknowledge past injustices, review patient’s rights, discuss mandatory components of consent, “Good Clinical Practices,” and the role of an Internal Review Board. Multiple $5,000 grants will be awarded to area churches and community centers that form processes to help their memory impaired members.
About Columbus Memory Center
Columbus Memory Center is a world leader in memory care and Alzheimer’s research. The center is credited for its commitment to ending Alzheimer’s in this generation through initiatives such as the Columbus Memory Project and the creation of the world’s first vital sign for brain health, the Memory Number®. For more information about Columbus Memory Center, visit: www.columbusmemorycenter.com.
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