North Dakota Dementia Care Services helps families
By BETH OLSON
North Dakota is the first, and only, state in the nation to appropriate state funding to implement a dementia education and care consultation program delivered across the
entire state. The goal of the project is to help people with dementia and their caregivers become educated and equipped to handle dementia care issues. Having free education
and dementia services available regardless of where in the state the person lives allows for a significant increase in the number of people the Alzheimer’s Association can
reach, especially those living in remote areas like Sheridan County. Alzheimer’s disease is an epidemic. Currently, more than 5 million Americans are living with the disease including 14,000 people right here in North Dakota. Additionally, there are more than 30,000 dementia caregivers in the state who provide an estimated 35 million hours of unpaid care every year at a value of $437 million. For more information, view the 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report at alz.org/facts. The number of people with
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will grow each year as the number and proportion of the U.S. population age 65 and older continue to increase. Alzheimer’s disease
is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States overall and the fifth leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older. It is the third leading cause of death of North Dakotans. It is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent it, cure it or even slow its progression.
As a state with one of the
