Alzheimer’s Association brings $3 billion research victory and a new blood test to the Hill Country

Jenny Hanie wants to say something plainly, because too many families hear it too late.

“Your cognitive decline is not a sign of aging,” the Alzheimer’s Association of the Hill Country’s chapter executive said Wednesday on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week. “As you get older you should not forget more.”

Hanie appeared alongside Community Development Manager Tiffany Koslovsky to cover territory that spans from Burnett to Kerrville and north toward Waco — a rural geography where 460,000 Texans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, supported by more than 1.2 million unpaid family caregivers.

The association carries two major pieces of news into this year’s Nonprofit Week. The first is medical: a blood test now available through primary care physicians can measure indicators of amyloid plaque buildup in the brain — the key marker of Alzheimer’s — replacing expensive MRIs and PET scans with a simple, insurance-covered office visit. The test was developed with funding from the Alzheimer’s Association and has dramatically lowered the barrier to early diagnosis in rural communities where specialist access is limited.

“Now a simple blood test is one of the hugest advancements we’ve seen,” Hanie said, “and it’s come from research and science advancement funded by the Alzheimer’s Association.”

The second piece of news is legislative. In November 2025, Texas voters approved Proposition 14 — allocating $3 billion over the next decade to fund dementia and Alzheimer’s research statewide. The vote was lopsided: the proposition passed overwhelmingly. Texas is now positioned to lead the global research effort.

The association’s local support infrastructure includes separate support groups for patients and caregivers — recognizing that the needs of each are distinct — along with educational programming that directly addresses the stigma that causes many families to minimize or explain away early symptoms. Koslovsky described the clinical reality gently: patients who exhibit behavioral changes are not being difficult. They are frightened.

“We do see that a lot,” she said. “We are really trying to focus on lately reminding people that they’re not doing these things to be hurtful or mean, but they’re also scared.”

The Texas Hill Country Walk to End Alzheimer’s is Saturday, Oct. 31, at Lady Bird Johnson Park in Kerrville. The event features a fall festival theme and a giant inflatable brain for public education. Local sponsors include Peterson Health and New Century Hospice.

Walk registration and caregiver resources: alz.org.