South Dakota State Alzheimer’s Plan Overview 

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Established in 2015, the South Dakota Alzheimer’s Disease State Plan Work Group expanded in April 2017 to include a larger group of stakeholders charged with creating the state’s response to Alzheimer’s. The Work Group conducted a comprehensive needs assessment and hosted town halls across the state, which were supported by a South Dakota Community Foundation Community Innovation Grant. In June 2018, the South Dakota State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias was published.

South Dakota 2024 Policy Priorities

Home Health Aid with Patient and Family Member
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Expand Access to Home and Community-Based Services 

Home and community-based services (HCBS) services such as in-home personal care, adult day care, and PACE programs (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) allow people living with dementia to remain in their homes for as long as possible while providing family caregivers much needed support. Currently, 16,500 South Dakotans are living with dementia, and 27,000 caregivers are providing unpaid care. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state lawmakers to support legislation that would allow for the creation of PACE programming in South Dakota and to increase reimbursement rates for other HCBS providers, including dedicated increases for services provided to care for people living with dementia. These increases will support South Dakotans receiving dementia care at home and may reduce the number of people needing higher levels of care.

Find My Chapter

Together, we’re making an impact. Find an Alzheimer’s Association chapter in your community for more ways to engage.

Contact Us

State Affairs Contact: Thomas Elness

Phone: 605.789.4997

Email: [email protected]

16,500

people living with Alzheimer’s in South Dakota

27,000

South Dakotans are providing unpaid care

$182 Million

Medicaid cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s (2020)

396

deaths from Alzheimer’s in 2021

13%

in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia

193.3%

increase of geriatricians in South Dakota needed to meet the demand in 2050