Kansas State Alzheimer’s Plan Overview
In May 2019, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order No. 19-08, establishing the Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force. The Task Force was responsible for assessing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease in Kansas, including the services and resources in place and needed to address the needs of people living with dementia and their caregivers. The Task Force was then tasked with a strategy to mobilize a state response to the Alzheimer’s public health crisis in Kansas. The members were divided into committees that studied, researched and documented: public awareness, access to care, family caregivers, training and workforce, safety and legal, research and data, dementia care, and rural. The Task Force met bi-monthly between the months of August and November of 2019 and in January 2020, published the 2020 Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Plan. An executive summary was also prepared.
Kansas 2024 Policy Priorities
Support Dementia Caregivers Through Respite Care
Nearly 90,000 Kansans are providing unpaid care to loved ones living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia, often enabling many of the 54,500 Kansans living with dementia to live in the community instead of moving into more costly residential long-term care. More than half of caregivers in Kansas are living with chronic health conditions. Respite care provides necessary relief to family caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association is urging state lawmakers to appropriate $600,000 for dementia-specific respite care services administered by the Kansas Area Agencies on Aging.
Support Dementia Training for First Responders
First responders such as law enforcement officers and emergency medical services (EMS) workers frequently encounter people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia when responding to emergencies and are often the first to observe instances of abuse and neglect. Without proper training on how to recognize the signs of dementia and how to effectively communicate with people living with dementia, situations may escalate quickly with potentially dangerous consequences. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state lawmakers to support legislation requiring law enforcement officers and EMS workers to receive training on interacting effectively with people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia.
Establish a Statewide Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Council
With the population of Kansans living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia growing each year, coordination and collaboration among state agencies and external stakeholders is critical to effectively address this disease. Establishing a statewide Alzheimer’s advisory council can help identify and understand the issues and develop state-specific solutions. The Alzheimer’s Association is urging state policymakers to pass legislation to establish the Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Council, making dementia a priority in Kansas.
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54,500
people living with Alzheimer’s in Kansas
89,000
Kansans are providing unpaid care
$473 Million
Medicaid cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s (2020)
805
deaths from Alzheimer’s in 2021
18%
in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia
505.0%
increase of geriatricians in Kansas needed to meet the demand in 2050
Resources to Drive Change in Kansas
The following resources developed by AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association will help you learn more about the issues impacting people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, how Kansas policymakers are addressing these gaps, and how you can help drive change.