Message from Dr. Richard Hodes, Director of National Institute on Aging
Dear All,
I deeply regret to inform you that NIA has canceled the 2020 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers.
Throughout this rapidly evolving public health situation involving COVID-19, NIH is committed to ensuring the safety and health of our staff and community, including encouraging staff to telework to the fullest extent possible. We also understand that new and/or changing commitments, both at work and at home, may prohibit many presenters and attendees from joining us in a live two-day virtual event next week. We want to be respectful of the needs of individuals living with dementia who were planning to participate, and we recognize that a virtual summit could present unique challenges for this group. For these reasons, NIA will not proceed with hosting the event in-person or virtually on March 24-25, 2020.
Though we are disappointed, we are working diligently to identify alternate ways to engage participants in discussions about the state of care, services and supports research, in a manner that respects the needs of all members of our community. We will share next steps on the summit website at a later date. All registered participants will also receive updates via email when available.
We extend a special thanks to the Summit Steering Committee, led by Jennifer Wolff (Johns Hopkins University), David Reuben (University of California, Los Angeles), Elena Fazio, Courtney Wallin, and Chandra Keller (NIA), and many stakeholder groups for the countless hours and commitment they dedicated to the planning of this summit. Their work provided us with a substantial foundation to plan next steps for addressing the gaps and opportunities for research to benefit those living with dementia and their caregivers.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Richard J. Hodes, M.D.
Director
National Institute on Aging
National Institutes of Health