Alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of death in Washington state.
Every part of our state is touched by Alzheimer's and other dementias. We are feeling the impact across Washington—on individuals and families who bear the greatest emotional and financial responsibility and on businesses through lost productivity of family caregivers.
While there is no known way to prevent or cure Alzheimer's, there are steps you can take to promote healthy aging and brain health, to improve the quality of life for those living with the disease, to ease the strain on family caregivers, and to reduce associated costs in the future.
- About Alzheimer's, CDC
- Alzheimers.gov - Information and resources on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
- Washington State Community Living Connections - Resources on Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and memory loss.
- National Healthy Brain Initiative, CDC - Road map for public health to address and respond to Alzheimer's and other dementias in their communities. Listen to a short podcast to learn more.
Is it dementia or not?
- 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Association
- Forgetfulness: Normal or Not? - National Institute of Aging
- Memory loss isn't a normal part of aging, CDC - This video on the CDC's Instagram explains types of memory loss that aren't a normal part of aging.
Resources
Dementia Road Map: A Guide for Family and Care Partners, DSHS
- What to expect.
- Information: healthcare, lifestyle decisions, care options and legal considerations.
- How families can help and prepare for the future.
- Actions for each phase of dementia.
- Resources: organizations and documents.
Clinical Provider Practice Tool, DSHS (PDF)
Easy-to-follow process, tools and links to resources for primary care practices to use in detecting, diagnosing and providing post-diagnostic support. It addresses:
- Identification of cognitive impairment.
- Dementia diagnostic work-up.
- Dementia management, including:
- Diagnostic uncertainty and behavior management.
- Counseling, education, support and planning.
- Stimulation, activity, maximizing function.
- Safety.
- Advance care planning.
- Medications.
- Tools and resources.
Implementing the Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map (PDF)
Step-by-step actions to walk your organization through integrating HBI into your workflow. This toolkit provides:
- A planning guide for public health agencies to assess current work being done to promote healthy aging and to identify opportunities to implement the 25 action items listed in the HBI.
- Checklists for each step.
- Appendices with examples of emails, documents, and resources to help your planning.