Arizona
Enter your address here to see your elected officials' positions on Alzheimer's and ways you can contact them to support the Alzheimer's community.
Call your legislators and let them know you support the Dementia Training Standards Study Committee! Ask them to VOTE YES.
Also encourage your members to attend our 2nd annual Arizona Alzheimer's Association Advocacy & Awareness Day at the Capitol on February 26th! RSVP information below, or email [email protected]
Increase Public Awareness, Early Detection And Diagnosis
Promote Brain Health
Public health has worked to keep people physically healthy across the lifespan, public health can now help people stay cognitively healthy, too. An ever-growing evidence base shows that adopting certain healthy behaviors can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, promote brain health, and protect cognition. To address this, public health practitioners can promote brain health at all ages to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Increase Public Awareness, Early Detection And Diagnosis
Support Funding for Dementia-Specific Data Collection
Each year, every state conducts a public health survey through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). States may collect data through the BRFSS on the impact of cognitive decline using the Cognitive Module and the Caregiver Module. Arizona’s Department of Health Services is working to include the Caregiver module is added to Arizona's survey in 2021 and the Cognitive Decline module in 2022 to ensure data is collected so that the state can adequately assess the needs of Arizonians living with dementia and the needs of their family caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association is seeking support for the inclusion of funding in the state’s annual budget, to cover the costs of adding these modules to the state BRFSS.
Arizona State Plan Overview
The Arizona Alzheimer's Task Force was established in 2011 as a collaboration of the Governor's Office on Aging, the Arizona Department of Economic Security Division of Aging and Adult Services, the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, and the Alzheimer's Association Desert Southwest Chapter. The goal was to bring together a wide range of stakeholders, both public and private, to develop a plan to address the growing number of Arizonans with Alzheimer's disease. In 2015, the Task Force published the Arizona Alzheimer's State Plan: A Framework for Action, which was developed through the cooperation of more than 100 community members.
Arizona State Advocacy Day
March 04, 2020
Arizona has the fastest growth rate of Alzheimer's disease in the nation. Join fellow Advocates from across the state make Alzheimer's a policy priority for Arizona's officials. Please click here for more information and to register: https://act.alz.org/site/Calendar/1594539371?view=Detail&id=128977
Sign Up to Learn More About Advocacy Opportunities in Arizona
State Affairs Contact James Fitzpatrick | | [email protected]
Number of People Aged 65 and Older With Alzheimer's by Age
| Year | 65-74 | 75-84 | 85+ | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 27,000 | 68,000 | 57,000 | 150,000 |
| 2025 | 34,000 | 96,000 | 69,000 | 200,000 |
Percentage change from 2020
Medicaid
$414
MILLION
Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer's (2020)
31.7%
change in costs from 2020 to 2025
Medicare
$25,490
per capita Medicare spending on people with dementia (in 2019 dollars)
HOSPICE (2017)
#
of people in hospice have a primary diagnosis of dementia
of people in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia
Geriatricians
Number of geriatricians in 2019
increase needed to meet Alzheimer's population needs in 2050
Hospitals (2017)
#
of emergency department visits per 1,000 people with dementia
dementia patient hospital readmission rate
increase in emergency deparment visits since 2007
Caregiving
Number of Caregivers
Total Hours of Unpaid Care
Total Value of Unpaid Care
Number of Deaths from Alzheimer's Disease (2018)
| 3,012 | total deaths in Arizona | |
| 5th | leading cause of death in Arizona | |
| 188% | increase in Alzheimer's deaths since 2000 |
For more information, view the 2020 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report at alz.org/facts.
U.S. Statistics
Over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, and as many as 13.8 million will have the disease in 2050. The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias is estimated to total $305 billion in 2020, increasing to $1.1 trillion (in today's dollars) by mid-century. Nearly 1 in 3 seniors who dies each year has Alzheimer's or another dementia.