Dear Friends,
It’s a busy time at the Capitol as we are approaching committee deadlines. I appreciate everyone who has come to visit with me on the issues that are important to them. I thought this might be a good time to update you on what I’ve been up to recently.
Empty Bowls for the Open Door
Two weeks ago, I had lunch at The Open Door’s 6th Annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser at Saint John Neumann. It was a great opportunity to see many friends and neighbors.
Sometimes people in our community lack the resources to get enough food. The Open Door has food shelves and a mobile unit to provide food to those that need the extra help. The Open Door has facilities in Eagan and Lakeville. It was formerly known as the Eagan and Lakeville Resource Center. The Business Office can be contacted at 651-688-3189.
Focus on Alzheimer’s
I attended the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) reception last week. The guest speaker was Michael Weiner, M.D., a professor at University of California, San Francisco and a leading researcher in this field. He put research on Alzheimer’s in perspective with research on cancer and other critical conditions. He highly recommended reading The Emperor of All Maladies, a book on cancer. I noticed that PBS has a documentary with this title scheduled for March 30. ISTAART has a conference scheduled from July 18-23 in Washington, D.C.
There are an estimated 100,000 Minnesotans living with Alzheimer’s, and that figure is predicted to increase significantly as the Baby Boomers age. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s include memory loss and wandering. Several bills were heard earlier this week in the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee on this issue. H.F. 805 was passed and referred to the next committee. That bill directs the Commissioner of Public Safety to set up a working group to study Minnesota’s need for a Silver Alert System to aid in the recovery of senior citizens with dementia, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease or other mental disabilities.
The Alzheimer’s Association has a 24/7 Helpline available, 1-800-272-3900.
Please contact me anytime with your input on legislative issues. I can be reached by phone at (651) 296-3533 or by email at
rep.sandra.masin@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Sandy Masin