In 2011, the Alaska Commission on Aging began the work of creating a state plan to address Alzheimer’s and dementia. With collaboration from other state agencies, community organizations, mental health professionals, and long-term care providers, the Commission formed a core team responsible for drafting Alaska’s response to Alzheimer’s. After collecting public input, Alaska’s Roadmap to Address Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias was published in December 2014. A subsequent plan entitled A Call to Action: Alaska’s 10-Year Map to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia was released in January 2021.

Improve Dementia Training for Certified Nursing Assistants 

A cornerstone of providing quality dementia care is dementia-specific training for professional care staff. Direct care workers (certified nursing assistants) have minimal dementia-specific education. To ensure direct care workers are providing quality dementia care, the Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state lawmakers to require the training curriculum for direct care staff to include information on providing person-centered dementia care based on thorough knowledge of the care recipient and their needs, care planning, activities of daily living, and dementia-related behaviors.