DeMarois is director of the California Department of Aging.
California has moved quickly to address the needs of the nearly 700,000 people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the state, as well as their families and caregivers. While strong advancements have been made in the medical field in the race to find a cure, a miracle treatment to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease remains elusive. Meanwhile, the overall number of Californians living with Alzheimer’s will double, including in the Asian and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ communities, and alarmingly, triple for the Hispanic and African American communities, by 2040.
Since November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, consider the case of Myra Garcia, who in her late 50s was a college vice president at the University of La Verne. After two years in the job, she began missing cues and neglecting to complete tasks or doing them wrong. With a strong family history of Alzheimer’s, she suspected she might have early-onset disease and made long-term financial plans, but she struggled to get a diagnosis. She was first misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Over the next five years, her symptoms worsened, and she lost two more jobs, unable to complete even simple tasks. Desperate for answers, she saw a neuropsychiatrist, and was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after a full day of cognitive testing.
That amount of time between early symptoms and official diagnosis is unacceptable. We know that early detection and diagnosis can improve the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s. In California, more than in any other state, we are making available exceptional services and opportunities to people with the disease, their caregivers and health care providers, both before and after a diagnosis.
As part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Master Plan for Aging, which is reimagining programs and services for older adults, especially those in higher-risk, harder-to-reach communities, the new Dementia Care Aware program was launched. Under the leadership of Dr. Mark Ghaly, the California Health and Human Services Agency rolled out the nation’s first program to train primary care providers to screen individuals for signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia Care Aware screenings allow providers to help people and their families create care plans tailored to their stage of cognitive decline, link them with resources, and ultimately improve their quality of life. Providers seeing individuals on Medi-Cal and anyone on Medicare over 65 can bill for these screenings.
Screening — followed by a comprehensive, diagnostic exam — can guide an individual’s future medical and behavioral health care and prompt strategies to support brain health. When signs are detected early, people can make medical, financial and other decisions for their future. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that by 2040, early diagnosis would save $340 billion in health and long-term care spending nationally.
In addition to cognitive health screenings, California has funded Healthy Brain Initiative grants for community education in multiple languages, first responder training and other support for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s and their caregivers in six counties. We’ve made more than $2 billion in recent investments to build the caregiver workforce, including the Career Pathways Program, which offers free cognitive health instruction for In-Home Supportive Services workers. And we’ve created Cal-COMPASS, a pilot program funding Alzheimer’s Day Programs or Adult Day Health Care centers to provide dementia-capable services at licensed centers in the community. The Governor’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention and Preparedness supports and helps guide our efforts.
Garcia is now 64. She no longer works or drives on the freeway, but was relieved to know her diagnosis. She participates in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial, stays active, and plays piano and sings at her church and at a long-term care memory facility. She also volunteers as a member of the Alzheimer’s Association board in Southern California and is part of the association’s National Early-Stage Advisory Group, whose members all are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. They advise on Alzheimer’s disease public policy, support early-stage care services and programs, and raise awareness about and demystify the disease through media outreach.
Yes, we need cures for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. But until then, Californians can rest a little easier knowing that we are detecting these diseases earlier and building strong systems of support to give those in need the best lives possible.