Bipartisan bill would offer support to Ohioans with dementia

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. 

“One year they’re really going and then it starts to happen and it’s really a sad situation,” Hoops said. 

Also according to the Alzheimer’s Association, half of Ohioans who report having memory problems have not talked to a healthcare provider. The proposed bill would require community education to include information on how to reduce the risk of cognitive decline, assessment tools for detection and information about early warning signs.

“Our hope is that this will help encourage people to make sure they’re getting their annual checkups, especially as they're aging, make sure the general community understands early warnings symptoms,” Baker said. 

Hoops said it's also about educating other public-facing services. 

“How do we teach, for instance, a law enforcement agent or a police officer, how do they deal with somebody who might have Alzheimer's,” he said. “People, in their day to day work, how do they deal with an individual who may have some dementia, it’s very challenging at times.”

Hoops said he thinks the bill will likely have broad support throughout the House. 

“The bill is bringing the skeleton, the framework, to bring people together so we can continue to talk about it,” he said.