Codey declares 'War on Alzheimer's'

Former Gov. Richard Codey is ready to pick a fight with what he terms "the growing epidemic" of a devastating disease, and he's taking his battle right to the top.

"Today, I am calling on the President, and the Congress, to declare a war on Alzheimer's," Codey told a small gathering Sunday at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. "It's time. Think of this. What disease, which is the sixth-leading cause of death in America, has increased from 2000 to 2013 by 71 percent? An incredible increase. At the same time, those dying from heart disease decreased 14 percent. It is a growing epidemic that is only growing worse as a result of the fact that, with modern medicine, we are all living longer."

As the 27th District Senator representing a portion of Morris County in the New Jersey Legislature, Codey will launch his battle against Alzheimer's Disease in Trenton. He said he has backing from both parties on what he terms "a bipartisan issue."

"The first time we go back into session, I will be introducing a resolution, and the same resolution will be introduced in the Assembly, expressing the will of the New Jersey Legislation that the President and Congress to declare this war and, most importantly as well, increase funding."

According to Codey, current funding for Alzheimer's Disease research is $600 million per year.

"The National Institute of Health tells us, America, that if you provide $2 billion in funding each year from now until 2025, we feel confident that we will have a cure and a prevention," Codey said. Think of that, in just 10 years, the sixth-leading cause of death ... all of us must band together."

"Of the top 10 causes of death, it is the only disease that has no real treatment or cure," said Dr. Theresa Redling, a Long Valley resident and medical director for Geriatric Health and Disease Management at St. Barnabus. "We need to diagnose earlier, develop treatments that have meaning for our patients and their caregivers."

Reflecting those statistics, Codey's resolution will specifically call for the federal government to double the funding for Alzheimer's research in fiscal year 2016 and to develop a plan for fiscal years 2017 through 2020.

Noting that many deaths are related but not attributed to Alzheimer's, and the uncharted financial and emotional toll on family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients, Codey said those billions would be a good investment and could free up future funding for researching cures for other diseases.

"Alzheimer's is already a public-health crisis for our country," said Ken Zaentz, president of the Greater New Jersey chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. "Not just because it's a rapidly-growing epidemic for those over the age of 65, but for the far-reaching impact that Alzheimer's has on our families, our economy and our healthcare system. In New Jersey alone, approximately 170,000 people have Alzheimer's Disease, a higher number than was even predicted just a decade ago. And the cost of caring for those individuals is expected to increase exponentially, with 60 percent of it being borne by Medicare and Medicaid."

One in five Medicare dollars are spent on individuals with Alzheimer's Disease, Zaentz said, "And that cost would be even higher if it weren't for an estimated 447,000 family caregivers in New Jersey who are providing care for their loved ones at home."

Those New Jersey caregivers also report increases in their own healthcare costs as a direct result of the physical and emotional stress of care-giving, with those costs estimated at $308 million, according to Zaentz.

Kathleen Dugan, board chair of the New Jersey chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, described her own experience caring for her father.

"As the disease continued its inevitable progression, it began to affect everyone in the family," Dugan said. "No one, no generation, was spared. The grandchildren, they saw a man who no longer was able to build custom boat models or dollhouses he had been making for them for years. And his children, we saw our father, our hero, slowly fade away."

Codey shared his own private family experience with Alzheimer's.

"Let's be honest here, to me it's personal," Codey. "My dad passed away from Alzheimer's. To see a man of great dignity, beloved by his family and community, go out that way is tough. The only thing I ever remember in taking a course in philosophy was Descartes saying, 'I think, therefore I am.' But if you can't think, what are you? And if you can't say to your loved one, 'I love you,' or you say 'I love you' and they don't understand that, what can be tougher?"

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.