Key takeaways from Rhode Island’s new Alzheimer’s plan
There are more than 24,000 Rhode Islanders living with some form of dementia, and that number is expected to increase by 12.5 percent by 2025, according to the Alzheimers Association.
On Feb. 15, the state of Rhode Island released an updated plan for addressing the issue. The Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders 2024-2029 State Plan outlines dozens of strategies for how to improve the quality of life and accessibility of care for residents with dementia over the next five years.
“This State Plan brings together every part of our government to support Rhode Islanders whose lives are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders,” Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos said at a press event with the Rhode Island Department of Health, US Senator Jack Reed, and Governor Dan McKee.
The report focuses on brain health, but also addresses the health and economic disparities that exist in Black and Hispanic communities, which experience higher rates of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, or ADRD.
The 2024-2029 state plan is an update of the previous fiveyear plan, and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with $500,000 for each year. The state has accomplished three of the goals put forth in the 2019-2024 plan by McKee, who was the lieutenant governor at the time: dedicating a full-time employee to coordinate ADRD strategy; promoting ADRD research opportunities in Rhode Island; and including brain health in the state’s other chronic disease management system.
The 2024-2029 plan identified four key sectors that the state wants to address: community, workforce, health system, and public health. Here’s a closer look at their goals for each.
Community
Some communities in Rhode Island experience higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders than others. Communities with growing populations of Black and Latino residents, those with populations older than 65, and those with higher percentages of families living below the poverty line are especially at risk. Central Falls, where the rate for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders is 20 percent — the highest in the state — also has the largest population of Latinos ages 65 and older (30 percent), and 85.7 percent of the population of the city lives below the poverty line. Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket also have some of the highest rates of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
The plan aims to give all Rhode Islanders — but especially populations that are at high risk — “access to information, resources, and tools that promote knowledge of brain health,” the report says. The state also seeks to provide support and “improve quality of life for people who are living with dementia and their caregivers.”
One objective is to create accessible neighborhoods for people with dementia, which would include sidewalks, greater access to healthy food options, and safer public spaces. Another is to promote dementia-specific caregiver support programs and respite services.
Workforce
There are 33 geriatricians and 7,390 home health and personal care aides in Rhode Island who are facing challenges with increasing workforce demands, the state plan said. There will need to be a 46 percent increase of geriatricians and a 28 percent increase of home health and personal care aides by 2050 to adequately care for people living with dementia, according to the state plan.
The plan calls for educating and expanding the workforce to better serve people with dementia and their caregivers. That includes training community health educators and community health workers to better identify residents with cognitive impairment. The plan suggests connecting specialty high school programs, junior colleges, and college nursing programs to create a career track focused on caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, such as dementia.
Health system
The plan offers seven strategies for improving the health system for people with dementia and their caregivers. Those strategies range from implementing new education plans to train workers and raise awareness, to increased use of technology and screening tools, to better collaboration between community-based organizations “to meet the health-related social needs/social determinants of health for patients living with dementia.”
The plan also suggests developing public/private partnerships “to support neuroscience, clinical, translational, and health services research and propose new actions to increase support of state-based life science investments in brain research.”
Public health
The report declares that “Rhode Island will lead the nation in addressing dementia through a public health approach,” and has identified four initiatives and three efforts to reach this goal. They include using the existing Rhode Island Department of Health equity framework to address disparities; convening equity work groups; using data to analyze public health trends around dementia; implementing recommendations outlined in the CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map; and advocating for Medicaid reimbursement for community health worker services that support those with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.