The Wyoming department of Health in conjunction with the UW Center on Aging will sponsor a series of listening sessions throughout the state on the topic of Alzheimer’s.
The group was created when Dr. Martha Stearn of the St. John’s Institute for Cognitive Health, Jennifer Simon of the St. John’s Hosptial Foundation, Janet Lewis , Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Wyoming chapter and the Governor’s office came together.
“The Governor’s office and the Wyoming Department of Health serve as facilitators for monthly group meetings where they plan to hold town hall meetings across the state,” Linda Chasson, Grants/Contracts Manager for the Wyoming Department of Health’s Aging Division, said.
Those sessions will help develop the state plan on Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias by allowing caregivers, family members and community members to share stories and experiences, Chasson said.
“Dr. Martha Stearn recognized that Wyoming is one of the very few states left in the country that did not have a plan for Alzheimer’s and related dementia,” Jennifer Simon, Vice President of the St. Johns Hospital Foundation, said.
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death int the U.S., with more than 5 million people currently living with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association website.
The Alzheimer’s association projects that by 2050 more than 16 million may develop the disease and that it is the current cause of death for one out of every three seniors, according to the Alzheimer’s Association website.
Simon said she and Stearn traveled in the summer of 2015 to discuss the importance of a state wide plan with Governor Matt Mead.
The plan would help to provide better care for those in Wyoming that suffer from Alzheimer’s and related dementia. Simon said it would also help medical professionals in the state.
“[A plan] to provide better support for caregivers and frontline professionals,” Simon said. “You don’t often think, for example EMTs or firefighters going to people’s homes that there may be clear signs that they are not trained to look for that the people living there may have cognitive decline.”
Simon and Stearn began working with a member of Mead’s policy team, which later became monthly calls with volunteers around the state. Those phone calls resulted in the creation of these town halls to get feedback from members of other communities.
“A great group of folks pulled together,” Simon said. “Folks from the University of Wyoming, AARP, the Department on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association of course.”
Listening sessions will be held in eight Wyoming cities over two weeks. Casper on Mar. 23, Gillette on Mar. 24, Rock Springs on Mar. 25, Lander on Mar. 28, Ethete on Mar. 29, Jackson on Mar. 30, Worland on Apr. 5 and Cody on Mar. 6.
“Just to make sure that people in Wyoming have access to the kind of services they need to provide the kind of care every single one of us deserves regardless of what disease we are diagnosed with.
