LETTER: Congress must keep funding the fight against Alzheimer’s 

To Ozaukee Press:

For the first time, more than seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. In Wisconsin, over 205,000 caregivers support more than 110,000 people living with Alzheimer’s. As an Alzheimer’s Association advocate, it is my honor to raise my voice on their behalf. I know firsthand the impact this disease has on Wisconsin families.

I have had four family members battle with Alzheimer’s Disease—my great aunt Mimi, maternal grandfather Clac, paternal grandmother Fran and, most recently, my dad. He passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s in February of 2019. It’s a generational disease that has a wide impact. I not only advocate for them, but for my family and others who will be impacted by Alzheimer’s.

I recently attended the 2025 AIM Advocacy Forum with 1,100 of my fellow

Alzheimer’s Association advocates from across the country, including my mom and sister from the Illinois chapter. We met with Rep. Glenn Grothman on Capitol Hill to call on him to protect Alzheimer’s and dementia research at the National Institutes of Health, the BOLD Act program and dementia care and support services like Medicaid. 

This is the most hopeful time in the history of Alzheimer’s, thanks largely to bipartisan congressional action. However, we must accelerate, not stop, this progress.

I want to thank Rep. Grothman for listening to those of us impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Please join me and the Alzheimer’s Association in encouraging him to advance policies that will continue making progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Now is the time to do more, not less.

To learn more about this disease and how you can join the fight to end Alzheimer’s, visit alzimpact.org.

David Traut

Port Washington