GAP-Net Site El Faro Health and Therapeutics in Texas’ Starr County continues working to connect the area’s predominantly Hispanic community with access to Alzheimer’s research and health care.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) John Dwyer applauded the work that Dr. James Falcon and the whole El Faro Health and Therapeutics team are doing to reach the vastly underserved people in Starr County, Texas — a county that has the second-highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the nation.
Through a partnership with GAP, El Faro was founded as the first private clinical research site in South Texas with the goal of delivering Alzheimer’s clinical trial opportunities to the traditionally underserved community. Starr County is 97 percent Hispanic, and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s in the county is nearly 23 percent. Before El Faro opened, there were no options for the people of the Rio Grande Valley to participate in Alzheimer’s therapeutic clinical research, presenting an obstacle to ensure that studies are representative of all people.
“Increasing access to scientific research and ensuring clinical trial diversity in our country’s rural, underserved areas isn’t optional,” said Dwyer.
“The Falcons have shown that the impossible is attainable, and Starr County is now the model for making real progress in Alzheimer’s clinical research in the U.S. We couldn’t be prouder of their success,” he added.
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For immediate release
Contact: media@globalalzplatform.org
About Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation
The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation® (GAP) is a patient-centered nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the delivery of innovative therapies for neurological disorders by reducing the duration and cost of clinical trials. Over 100 research centers in the U.S. and globally are part of the growing GAP Network (GAP-Net).
Founding GAP President John Dwyer, in his work with the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) and Global Alzheimer’s CEO Initiative (CEOi) is raising awareness to the importance of attaining clinical trial diversity in order to obtain a treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s by 2025 for everyone.