Care Access Brings World Class Alzheimer’s Research to West Central Florida

Decentralized trials have a new home in Sun City Center, Florida. On November 3, Care Access held a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new research site in the active living senior community. The Sun City Chamber of Commerce and local business leaders joined the Care Access team in celebrating the new research facility. It is the first in a network of purpose-built sites for an Alzheimer’s prevention study.

The excitement was palpable as Care Access team members and partners expressed their hopes of finding new and better treatments that may directly benefit members of the community. For its inaugural study, the new research site will be evaluating an investigational treatment to prevent or slow down Alzheimer’s disease. With the majority of residents aged 55 and older, members of the Sun City Center community are at greater risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease.

“We are partnering with local organizations to make residents aware that there is an opportunity to participate in this clinical trial in their community.”

“We are partnering with local organizations to make residents aware that there is an opportunity to participate in this clinical trial in their community,” explained Melissa Cooley, Patient Access Team Lead at Care Access. Cooley anticipates that the research facility will be able to enroll up to 200 study participants per week.

In addition to conducting clinical studies, the new facility will also serve as a hub for more extensive decentralized research capabilities within the community. Unlike traditional clinical trials, which rely on a centralized location — such as an academic medical center — to conduct research, decentralized trials take clinical research directly into the community using a combination of mobile, virtual and other capabilities.

The Sun City Center facility is part of a larger strategy to establish research sites in 55+ communities across the United States. Care Access plans to open 7 more facilities in Florida and other states over the next several months. In addition to the Alzheimer’s trial, Care Access plans to offer studies for a variety of therapeutic areas that directly impact people 55 and older.

As Care Access settles into life in Sun City Center, the local team is looking for ways to give back to the community through community service, volunteering, and other local partnerships. To date, Care Access has sponsored several charitable events, including a concert to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association and a local golf tournament. “It’s not just about enrolling participants in a study,” explained Cooley, “We want to become part of the community.”