COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The number of Ohioans living with dementia is on the rise every day.
This week marked the start of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Education Week. And at the statehouse, there is a new bipartisan effort to support Ohioans with dementia.
“The issue of dementia, Alzheimer’s, is becoming more prevalent in our daily lives,” Rep. Jim Hoops (R-Napoleon) said.
House Bill 397 — sponsored by Representatives Hoops and Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati) — would instruct the Ohio Department of Health to work with several other state departments and community organizations to incorporate dementia awareness information into relevant public health outreach.
“Not only with the person that has dementia but also the caregivers,” Hoops said. “What are the processes that they need to take to help people?”
“It’s about making sure we can note these things early and hopefully help people stay healthy longer,” Baker said.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 11% of Ohioans 45 and older report having subjective cognitive decline . Nearly a quarter-million Ohioans over 65 are currently living with Alzheimer’s Disease. Those numbers have been increasing over the past five years.