In June 2014, the Montana Alzheimer's Disease/Dementia Work Group was established as a grassroots collaboration with grant funding provided by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI): Improving the Lives of Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Caregivers: A Patient-Centered Statewide Approach. The Work Group’s membership includes private sector stakeholders and state officials representing the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, who convene regularly to improve care and support for Montanans living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, their families, and caregivers. In December 2016 the Work Group published Montana’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia State Plan: Addressing the Current and Future Needs of Individuals and Families with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias.

Establish Important Safeguards on Involuntary Commitment for Montanans Living with Alzheimer’s

Following tremendous advocacy, Montana lawmakers enacted House Bill 29 in 2023, which establishes important safeguards for Montanans living with dementia by ending involuntary commitment to state psychiatric institutions. The new law requires the Department of Public Health and Human Services to ensure individuals with a primary diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementia who have been involuntarily committed to the Montana State Hospital have first priority for admission into nursing homes. The state has appointed members to a Transition Review Committee, which is actively meeting to formulate a plan to ensure the availability of community-based services for people living with dementia at risk for involuntary commitment and enable those living with dementia in the Montana State Hospital to transition out into community settings. The Alzheimer’s Association calls on state officials to continue to prioritize this important work and ensure all Montanans living with dementia can remain in the most appropriate setting in the community.