Has it Passed Yet? Has it Passed Yet?

Advocating Alzheimer's legislationHouse Bill 1082, otherwise known as the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and All Dementias bill, was before the Senate Aging and Youth Committee. My senator would be among those discussing and weighing the merits and benefits of this bill. The director, Jen, wanted to know if I would reach out to her in support of the bill. The bill proposed a public health campaign about Alzheimer's and education for health care providers to better help patients navigate through such a disease. The purpose and the hope are that the disease would be caught early enough to allow people to make decisions about their own care and early enough to preserve as much memory for as long as possible. I let Jen know that she could count on me! From there, I, of course, sent an email! I emailed Senator Collett letting her know I support the bill as her constituent. I explained what kind of an impact the bill would have on our community. Then, I asked her for her vote and offered my assistance, should she want to discuss the bill further. Making a phone callYou didn't think it would end there, right? Sometimes that is the case, but not all of the time. So after about a week, when I didn't hear anything, I decided to pick up the phone and make a good old-fashioned phone call. Novel idea, right? I spoke to one of Sen. Collett's staff members, who took my name, contact information and concern. She logged it and let me know someone would be in touch in the future, but warned that they were backed up. Hurricane Ida happenedMy next course of action was going to be to drop into the office for some face-to-face time. Unfortunately, the remnants of Hurricane Ida rolled through, causing funnel clouds and damage to our neighborhood. As our community mobilized to help those affected by the storm, including state officials getting emergency dollars to the area, I put my priorities on the back burner for the more imminent issue. An email returnedYou would never guess what happened next. Sen. Collett's legislative director replied to my email, asking if I might have time to come into the office in the next week to talk to her about the bill. To say I was excited was an understatement! I called Jen right away to make a plan, I coordinated my outfit so I would be sporting my purple and took my anxiously excited enthusiasm into the office. Making the case for HB 1082The Senator graciously listened to my story. We discussed the issues the bill would target and why the details of the bill would meet those needs. Jen brought in information about how the bill compares to other states and offered to deliver more information as soon as possible. From the Senator herself to the members of her staff who I communicated with, everyone was so amazingly kind and receptive. I'm happy to have them representing me in government and to have such stalwart partners in the fight against Alzheimer's. But, that is one vote amid a whole body of votes. So, I'll be refreshing the General Assembly website like it's the Target app on Black Friday. Hopefully, I'll get to see the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and All Dementias bill passed into law.UPDATE: All of my refreshing, tweeting, and faux passive check-ins with those who are more knowledgeable than I am, HB 1082, the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and All Dementias bill, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on February 9, 2022! There are not a lot of victories when it comes to the fight against Alzheimer's disease, but small ones like this are definitely worth celebrating. I, for example, had my own private dance party!