The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) with Esther Kane & Debbie Elkins

All Home Care Matters

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton were honored to welcome Esther Kane and Debbie Elkins from The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). About The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD): Online at theaftd.org, AFTD is the largest national nonprofit devoted to providing resources to help families affected by FTD today, and advancing research to foster accurate diagnosis, treatments, and a cure. Our volunteer founded organization – driven by thousands of volunteers and donors – reflects a community's profound determination to #endFTD. With the FTD Disorders Registry, we are proud to partner with families, researchers, biopharma companies, state and federal policymakers, and health professionals across the country to improve care for people and families facing FTD – efforts that could ultimately be importance to all facing dementia or neurodegenerative disease. About Esther Kane, MSN, RN-CDP: Esther Kane, MSN, RN-CDP joined AFTD as its Director of Support and Education in November 2020. Previously, Esther served as Director of Wellness at CareOne Management, a company that provides elder-care services throughout the Northeast U.S. She brings clinical, educational, managerial, and marketing skills along with a passion for quality care for those who are living with neurological conditions. Her work reflects a strong commitment to the importance of education and training throughout the spectrum of diagnosis and delivery of quality care. At AFTD, Esther ensures that support services and educational programs advance early diagnosis and improve access to quality care and effective support, and that that clinical information provided to healthcare professionals and the AFTD community is current and evidence-based. Debbie Elkins, RN and AFTD Ambassador for West Virginia: After her husband’s journey to an FTD diagnosis, Debbie became an AFTD volunteer and hosted her first Food for Thought fundraiser. With a passion to raise awareness in her community and to make connections with others in rural areas of West Virginia and southeast Ohio, Debbie was invited to become an Ambassador in 2023. Working with AFTD staff, she began provider outreach visits hoping to connect the local medical community and others to AFTD. As a registered nurse, Debbie hopes to use her voice to bring FTD awareness to the public, provide education, and point families to the “gold mine” of resources and support that AFTD offers.