Governor Proclaims Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

Alzheimer’s And Brain Awareness Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks; and

Whereas, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the abilities to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment; and

Whereas, an estimated 6.9 million Americans, age 65 and older, were living with Alzheimer's in 2024. Seventy-three percent of those living with Alzheimer’s are age 75 or older. As the size of the U.S. population age 65 and older continues to grow, likely so too will the number and proportion of Americans with Alzheimer's or other dementias. By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's may grow to a projected 12.7 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease; and

Whereas, one in three older Americans dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia; it kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined; and

Whereas, approximately 210,500 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease in North Carolina; the total value of unpaid care in North Carolina was $13 billion; in 2025, $1.8 billion was listed as the Medicaid cost for caring for people with Alzheimer’s in North Carolina; and

Whereas, the total lifetime cost of care for a person living with dementia is estimated at almost $400,000. Seventy percent of these costs are borne by family caregivers in the forms of unpaid caregiving and out-of-pocket expenses. North Carolina has more than 381,000 Alzheimer’s caregivers who give more than 739 million hours each year in unpaid care to loved ones - the third highest in the nation; and

Whereas, volunteers, researchers, caregivers, and medical professionals are working to improve the quality of life of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers; there are currently 34 active research awards totaling $82 million for Alzheimer’s research in North Carolina; and

Whereas, increased research, education, and community support services, such as those provided by the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations to bridge gaps in knowledge and support across the state, are needed to find more effective treatments and to provide access to quality care to those living with the disease today;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June 2025, as “Alzheimer’s And Brain Awareness Month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-eighth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.