The council shall consider and make findings and recommendations on the following topics:

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 71-566

  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(1) Trends in the state‘s Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia populations and service needs, including:

(a) The state’s role in providing or facilitating long-term care, family caregiver support, and assistance to those with early-stage or early-onset Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(b) The state’s policies regarding individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(c) The fiscal impact of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia on publicly funded health care programs; and

(d) The establishment of a surveillance system to better determine the number of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia and to monitor changes to such numbers;

(2) Existing resources, services, and capacity relating to the diagnosis and care of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, including:

(a) The type, cost, and availability of dementia care services;

(b) The availability of health care workers who can serve people with dementia, including, but not limited to, neurologists, geriatricians, and direct care workers;

(c) Dementia-specific training requirements for public and private employees who interact with people living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia which shall include, but not be limited to, long-term care workers, case managers, adult protective services, law enforcement, and first responders;

(d) Home and community-based services, including respite care for individuals exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia and their families;

(e) Quality care measures for home and community-based services and residential care facilities; and

(f) State-supported Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia research conducted at universities located in this state; and

(3) Policies and strategies that address the following:

(a) Increasing public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia;

(b) Educating providers to increase early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia;

(c) Improving the health care received by individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(d) Evaluating the capacity of the health care system in meeting the growing number and needs of those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia;

(e) Increasing the number of health care professionals necessary to treat the growing aging and Alzheimer’s disease and dementia populations;

(f) Improving services provided in the home and community to delay and decrease the need for institutionalized care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(g) Improving long-term care, including assisted living, for those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(h) Assisting unpaid Alzheimer’s disease or dementia caregivers;

(i) Increasing and improving research on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia;

(j) Promoting activities to maintain and improve brain health;

(k) Improving the collection of data and information related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia and the resulting public health burdens;

(l) Improving public safety and addressing the safety-related needs of those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia;

(m) Addressing legal protections for, and legal issues faced by, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia; and

(n) Improving the ways in which the government evaluates and adopts policies to assist individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia and their families.