AVON, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed legislation into law to “help the state confront the sweeping economic and social impact of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” according to the Cleveland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Senate Bill 24 calls for “the creation of a process that will lead to an official plan of action to address Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in Ohio." The bill was introduced by State Sen. Steve Wilson (R-7) of Maineville and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko (D-25) of Richmond Heights.
The plan will include information on the importance of early detection and diagnosis, resources for caregiver support, and quality of care and safety, among other elements.
“We have taken an important step on our journey to end Alzheimer’s,” Yuko said. “I’m grateful for the many advocates, caregivers and leaders who made this task force a priority. I’m eager to get to work so we can improve the lives of the 1 million Ohioans who are impacted by Alzheimer’s or dementia and their families.”
Locally, Sarah Sobel, public policy and outreach manager in the Cleveland chapter of the Alzhiemer’s Association -- who works with advocates in five Northeast Ohio counties, including the cities of Avon, Avon Lake, North Ridgeville, Rocky River, Bay Village and Westlake -- said, “This is a process leading to a plan, that creates a task force tasked with providing recommendations to address Alzheimer’s disease in Ohio, the only state in the U.S. that does not have such a plan.”
But some other plans in other states, Sobel said, have not done such a great job.
“Some have sat on the shelf over the years and collected dust, or some states have implemented plans to the point where they are revising the plan goals every two to three years," she said.
Why was Ohio the only one to not have such a plan?
“I think it is a combination of various things that took priority in the past,” said Sobel. “Ohio has always prioritized for supporting caregivers with funding, but now that we are seeing slow but sure increases in the numbers of Alzheimer’s cases, the Ohio General Assembly is also becoming more affected. More and more legislators are affected within their families.”
Sobel said a term being used for the aging Baby Boomers is a “silver tsunami.” The legislators see it coming our way, she said; their constituents are getting older, and a kind of perfect storm is coming, so the time to act is now.
The legislation spells out explicitly who will be on the task force, she said.
“There are about 24 seats on the task force that will include, for example, someone who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, another who is a caregiver, others who represent nursing homes, residential care facilities, adult day services, also providers of medical care, a physician with experience in the field in diagnosing, treating and researching dementia, a psychologist who specializes in dementia care, two who represent an organization advocating on behalf of individuals who have been diagnosed, others who have experience in Alzheimer’s care, plus leaders in state associations and government officials, as well.”
DeWine has 90 days to appoint the individuals, which will bring the task force together in their first meeting prior to the end of February.
Then, no later than 18 months later -- by the summer of 2021 -- the task force will submit a report that includes their findings and recommendations on various topics, such as service needs, fiscal impact and availability of services, Sobel said.
She noted that in her time with the Cleveland chapter over the past six years, to her knowledge, there has not yet been a single Alzheimer’s-specific piece of legislation introduced until now.
“The passage of Senate Bill 24 is just the beginning,” she said. "We (the Alzheimer’s Association) are so thankful to Gov. DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly for recognizing the need for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia in Ohio. We look forward to working with our stakeholder partners on the task force to develop relevant and timely recommendations.”
But Sobel said that although she is hopeful, “west side community residents are unlikely to see an immediate benefit once the task force’s statewide recommendations are released, but they will see the long-term effects as resources and supports are made more available to the community.”
Sobel also recalled a speaker from the National Institutes of Health, a government agency responsible for biomedical and public health research, at a meeting in Washington, D.C., several years ago who said Alzheimer’s will be “the public health crisis of our generation.”
Assuming the speaker was correct, Senate Bill 24 and its successful execution will surely be carrying forward the hopes and dreams of many people throughout the state of Ohio.