2021 Champions for Cures and Care - Flipbook - Page 19
Golden West Chapter. These dedicated ALS advocates urged state officials to support
the Chapter’s evidence-based model of care, which combines medical, community
and home-based services and support, and has been proven to help people with ALS
live better and longer with the disease. It is also designed to accelerate the search for
effective treatments and cures for ALS. Assemblymember Arambula quickly recognized
the importance of the issue and the critical need for this state funding, and became an
advocate for the request.
On June 27, 2018, California’s then Governor Brown signed budget bill SB 840, dedicating
$9 million in appropriations, given over the course of three years, in support of California’s
ALS community and positioning the Golden West Chapter to serve as the administrator
for statewide distribution of funds annually. This was an important recognition of the
diverse and ongoing needs of people living with ALS and their families, acknowledgment
of the work of the Golden West Chapter, and an unprecedented commitment of state
funding. In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California legislature committed to
the renewal of these annual appropriations to the Golden West Chapter, to support vital
programs and multidisciplinary ALS care across California. This time the annual funding
was extended to five years, for a total of $15 million, in continued funding for the care
and support of the ALS community.
The Golden West Chapter salutes Dr. Joaquin Arambula for his many efforts as a
healthcare advocate and for helping to accelerate the search for effective treatments
and cures for ALS.
ABOUT DEAN & KATHLEEN RASMUSSEN
Dean Rasmussen is fondly referred to as The ALS Association’s
“Godfather of Advocacy.” After losing his father to ALS, Dean
put his grief into action.
His vision and philanthropic support served to catalyze the
creation of the Association’s federal public policy program
and the Golden West Chapter’s program in California. Dean is
an emeritus trustee of the National ALS Association; Founder
and Emeritus Chair of The ALS Association Federal Advocacy
Committee; and is an ongoing supporter of ALS advocacy
efforts throughout California and Hawaii.
Kathleen O’Brien Rasmussen, served as an Advisory Trustee and, later, the Chair of the
Board of Directors of The ALS Association Greater Los Angeles Chapter. She successfully
co-chaired the merger of the Greater Bay Area and Los Angeles Chapters into the Golden
West Chapter in 2010. She is an Emeritus Trustee of the Harvard Medical School Neuro
Discovery Center. She recently returned to serve as a board member for the Golden
West Chapter and is an active part of the Chapter’s Marketing and Communications
Committee.
Both Dean and Kathleen enjoy traveling and spending time with their family
especially their grandchildren. They are also passionately involved in the fight against
neurodegenerative disease through their efforts with the Golden West Chapter and the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.