Legislators Consider Measures To Boost Dementia Care, Research

State lawmakers are proposing to spend $2 million to boost Alzheimer’s care and research in Wisconsin.

The package of bipartisan bills aims to help an estimated 110,000 people suffering from the disease.

State Rep. Mike Rohrkaste, R-Neenah, chair of the Assembly Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia, said the push will help support existing efforts.

“What this Wisconsin Cares package does is really expands and makes a number of existing programs even better, it improves or pushes the scope of those programs further into the state, particularly in the more rural areas,” he said.

Rohrkaste said the 10 bills will cost roughly $2 million over the biennium. About $1 million would go to provide temporary relief to those caring for family members. Another $50,000 would be spent on Alzheimer’s research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Other proposed bills increase the number of dementia care specialists; educate employers about the disease, and increase training for mobile crisis teams. Such teams diffuse difficult situations and help avoid the need for more restrictive placement.