In 2012, the Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force established by House Memorial 20 was convened by the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department to assess and make recommendations for addressing Alzheimer’s and other dementia within the state. The Task Force included leaders of state agencies, health care providers, caregivers, individuals living with the disease, as well as representatives from academia and tribal organizations. After collecting input from the public, the Task Force published the New Mexico State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in 2013. 

In 2014, the state established the State Dementia Plan Leadership Team and the Office of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care within the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. The Leadership Team worked to determine priorities and establish subcommittees to oversee state plan implementation. In 2016, a larger group of stakeholders was convened to analyze current dementia-related data and assess the state’s progress on State Plan implementation, ultimately producing the 2017 State Plan Update.

In 2022, the state published the New Mexico State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, which reflects current and emerging trends surrounding the growing crisis of Alzheimer’s disease in the state. The updated State Plan includes thirteen goals to further address the needs of persons living with Alzheimer's and other dementia. Among the recommendations included in the plan are strengthening the dementia care workforce; establishing a Dementia Care Navigator program; and establishing dementia training standards for law enforcement and first responders.

Requiring Dementia-Specific Training for Guardians 

Dementia can significantly affect a person’s ability to make decisions, and in the absence of other advanced directives, people living with dementia may need the assistance of a guardian or conservator. To ensure that the rights, values, and preferences of people living with dementia are upheld under guardianship or conservatorship, the Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state policymakers to update guardianship regulations to require those who are serving people living with dementia to have training on topics including warning signs of dementia, difficult behaviors and effective communication strategies for communicating with a person living with dementia.