September is Healthy Aging Month and World Alzheimer’s Month. Peter Braun, adjunct lecturer at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, discusses establishing services for minority communities facing Alzheimer’s disease.
Peter Braun is committed to improving quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and their families. Previously serving as president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter for 20 years, he developed a national service delivery model for people with dementia and their caregivers in Latino, African-American and Asian-Pacific Islander communities. He also oversaw the agency’s expansion from a budget of $252,000 in 1988 to $5.7 million in 2008.
Braun has lent his expertise to a number of leadership positions, including membership on the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Alzheimer’s Advisory Committee in Sacramento.
We sat down with Braun to discuss effective systems of care for Alzheimer’s patients, as well as what the future holds in terms of research funding and more advanced treatment for the disease.