Equip Colorado with a Dementia-Capable Workforce
Individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementia have unique needs that often make care delivery, communication and interaction more challenging and demanding. Direct care workers in long-term care settings, in-home services and adult day settings often do not have sufficient dementia-specific knowledge to effectively support those living with the disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state legislators to support legislation to ensure all direct care workers receive dementia-specific training following a culturally competent training curriculum that incorporates the principles of person-centered care to best address the needs of care recipients with dementia.
Maintain Funding for Critical Home and Community Based Services
Medicaid expenditures in Colorado for people with dementia are expected to increase 24% over the next five years. Much of that expense is associated with costly residential long-term care. Increasing access to home & community based services (HCBS) can delay admission into a LTC setting. Services such as home delivered- meals, personal emergency response systems and adult day health programs help support family caregivers. In 2019 alone, 256,000 dementia caregivers provided over 292 million hours of unpaid care. The Alzheimer’s Association urges state policymakers to protect existing funds for HCBS which are critical for people with dementia. While the upcoming budget will be tight, it is critical that legislators protect HCBS programs from cuts.
Colorado State Plan Overview
The Colorado Alzheimer's Coordinating Council (CACC) was authorized by the Colorado State Legislature in 2008 with the passage of Senate Bill 08-058. Members included representatives from state agencies, the state legislature, care providers, family caregivers, persons living with the disease, and the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Tasked with creating a state plan on Alzheimer's, the CACC focused on Colorado's current public and private capacity to address Alzheimer's, identify service and support gaps, and make recommendations to improve the care of those living with the disease, their caregivers, and their families. The Colorado State Alzheimer Disease Plan: A Roadmap for Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving and Family Support Policies was published in November 2010.
Colorado State Advocacy Day
March 15, 2021
Join fellow Alzheimer’s advocates for an exciting virtual advocacy day urging Colorado’s state lawmakers to support people with dementia and their families. We will have a series of informative and engaging virtual events with state government leaders to highlight the urgent need for dementia training for direct care workers and to maintain ongoing funding for key services and supports. Our advocacy day will mix storytelling, advocacy training and direct engagement with your state government representatives. And we will all wear purple to unify us in our virtual efforts!
