Jan 29 (Reuters) – U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed a new chair and 10 new public members to the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, the department said in a statement on Thursday.
The panel, created under the 2011 National Alzheimer’s Project Act, meets each quarter to advise the government on reducing the burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The new chair, Michelle Branham, is secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and has more than 25 years of experience in Alzheimer’s public policy and public health.
Among the newly appointed members are John Couris, CEO of the Florida Health Sciences Center; James Hartsell, executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs; and Steve Waterhouse, chair of the Alzheimer’s Association of Central and North Florida.
The HHS said the newly appointed members bring experience across aging services, public health, dementia advocacy and patient representation, and will support federal efforts to update the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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