Introduction

Studies show that at least half of all assisted living residents age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, another disease or condition that causes dementia or cognitive impairment that is probably caused by these diseases and conditions.

The sheer prevalence rates and the growth of assisted living in recent years have placed assisted living in the top two state legislative priorities for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Our position

Lawmakers can influence the availability of assisted living for people with Alzheimer’s disease and the quality of care in those facilities by:

• Assuring access for people with dementia for whom it is an appropriate setting of care; and

• Setting standards that will direct regulators to address the needs of residents with dementia.

What we are doing

The Alzheimer’s Association participated in the National Assisted Living Workgroup – a group of national-level organizations interested in assisted living – convened by Congress in 2001 to develop recommendations for high-quality assisted living.

The workgroup recommendations resulted in eight recommendations of relevance to people with Alzheimer’s disease.

In August 2003, public policy directors and staff in 21 states compared their state’s existing assisted living regulations to the recommendations from the National Assisted Living Workgroup and reported back to the Washington, D.C. Advocacy and Public Policy office with the findings.

The analysis identified what types of assisted living regulations currently exist and opportunities for more targeted advocacy efforts in the future. The result of those comparisons showed that in all but two categories, state regulations overwhelmingly fell below the minimum recommendations.

Advocacy and Public Policy Division is working more in-depth with the states that fall below the recommendations. Currently five to six states are pursuing assisted living as a priority campaign issue in 2004.

For more information about assisted living campaigns or to build one in your state, contact Mike Splaine at Mike.Splaine@alz.org.