Vermont State Alzheimer’s Plan Overview
In 1991, Vermont’s legislature enacted legislation that established the Governor’s Commission on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), in its efforts to design and develop the State Plan on Dementia, convened a subcommittee of the Governor’s Commission on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders and other aging network providers. This subcommittee was charged with providing guidance for the development of a plan to help state policymakers and stakeholders better understand how the estimated increase in people living with dementia will need to be met with a corresponding increase in resources; including caregivers, specialized care units, respite services and education. During 2007 and 2008, a State Plan on Dementia was developed. Soliciting feedback from community members, direct service providers, and families impacted by Alzheimer’s, the subcommittee published the Vermont State Plan on Dementia in 2009.
In 2022, the state released the 2022-2025 Vermont Action Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease, Related Dementias & Healthy Aging, led by the Vermont Health Department’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging Program and the State Unit on Aging at DAIL. More than 40 stakeholders, including the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and Vermonters with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, were engaged in the process. The new state plan highlights goals that are in alignment with the National Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map and the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. These include enhancing public awareness and engagement; improving data to track progress; and accelerating action to reduce risk factors for dementia.
Vermont 2024 Policy Priorities
Incorporate Dementia into Public Health Outreach Programs
By 2025, the number of Vermonters living with Alzheimer’s will increase by an estimated 30.8%. To meet the growing demand for care, support and treatment, Vermonters and health care providers need access to critical information about the disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state lawmakers to support legislation that incorporates Alzheimer’s and dementia into existing public health outreach programs. This public awareness initiative will educate health care providers and Vermonters on brain health, risk reduction strategies, and the importance of obtaining a timely and accurate diagnosis.
Increase Respite Funding for Dementia Caregivers
Caregivers of Vermonters living with dementia provided 28 million hours of unpaid care last year, often enabling their loved ones to live in the community instead of moving into more costly residential long-term care. Current state funding is inadequate to meet the existing needs of caregivers for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia, and this shortfall will only grow as the dementia population continues to increase in Vermont. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state lawmakers to increase funding for the Dementia Respite Grant program to $500,000 per year. The Dementia Respite Grant program provides flexible funds to help family caregivers keep their loved ones at home.
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12,800
people living with Alzheimer’s in Vermont
19,000
Vermonters are providing unpaid care
$116 Million
Medicaid cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s (2020)
337
deaths from Alzheimer’s in 2021
17%
in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia
255.6%
increase of geriatricians in Vermont needed to meet the demand in 2050
Resources to Drive Change in Vermont
The following resources developed by AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association will help you learn more about the issues impacting people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, how Vermont policymakers are addressing these gaps, and how you can help drive change.