ELDERLY CARE: DHS Awards Grants for Alzheimer’s Research, End- of-Life Care

      California HHS Secretary Grantland Johnson Friday announced nearly $500,00 in grants for 13 California scientists to research Alzheimer's disease. Using contributions from a tax check-off on the state income tax form, the grants will fund the first year of the projects, and then researchers will have to look to future legislative appropriations or additional contributions to continue their work. Noting that contributions to the Alzheimer's research fund have "decreased dramatically" since 1991, Johnson said that the new awards allow the state "to restore the number of research projects funded to prior levels and continue the state's aggressive efforts to research and treat Alzheimer's disease" (DHS release, 3/26). The state DHS received its own boost, as it was part of a statewide coalition that received a one-year, $110,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a plan to foster better palliative care. The grant was awarded to the California Coalition for Compassionate Care, a 20-member partnership that includes DHS, the California Association of Catholic Hospitals, the California Healthcare Association, Sacramento Healthcare Decisions, the California Hospice Association, nursing home associations and health care providers. The grant will focus on three objectives: nursing facility guidelines, pain management and raising awareness about end-of-life issues. The coalition plans to train nursing home aides, DHS nursing home inspectors and ombudsmen to see that proper end-of-life care is administered (DHS release, 3/26).