The Alzheimer’s Association is seeking input from health care professionals serving Orangeburg County as part of a broader Community Needs Assessment on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. A virtual forum on dementia will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, for physicians, nurses, and health care workers who work with dementia patients in any role or specialty. The program will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing platform.
According to a nationwide model in the Alzheimer’s Association 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, Orangeburg County ranks eighth in the nation for Alzheimer’s prevalence among counties with a population of 10,000 or more age 65 and older, with 15% of the population 65 and older estimated to be living with the disease.
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“From physicians to nursing assistants, frontline health care personnel are vital to diagnosing dementia and helping individuals and their families navigate the challenges that follow,” said Taylor Wilson, Director of Government Affairs for the Alzheimer’s Association South Carolina Chapter. “We need their valuable perspectives to better understand the impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on their patients and practices.”
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Feedback shared at the virtual forum will help identify community needs and opportunities to share resources on family support services. Health care professionals who serve individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia in any medical or long term care setting are urged to register at http://bit.ly/AlzCareObg to receive access details.
The South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Registry shows that 2,019 individuals in Orangeburg County were living with Alzheimer’s or related dementia (ADRD) as of 2021, the most recent year that complete data is available. Based on their numbers, African Americans were 28% more likely to have ADRD than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Nearly 10% of dementia cases in Orangeburg County were people under age 65.
An estimated 6.9 million people age 65 and older in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s dementia, including 112,500 in South Carolina. This year the cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is projected to reach $360 billion — a $15 billion increase from a year ago. This does not include unpaid care provided by family caregivers and friends. Last year in South Carolina there were 219,000 dementia family caregivers, providing 361 million hours of unpaid care valued at over $5.5 billion.
In 2023, Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law the Alzheimer’s State Plan Act, which requires the South Carolina Department Aging to maintain a strategic, evidence-informed plan to address Alzheimer’s and related dementias, with annual reporting on progress presented to the legislature each year and a plan updated required every five years. The current Alzheimer’s State Plan for 2023-2028, published in March 2023, has a special focus on supportive services in the community to bring resources to those caregiving for the person with dementia.
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