Ark. Code § 20-8-1102

Current with legislation from 2024 Fiscal and Special Sessions.

Section 20-8-1102 - Duties

The Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Advisory Council shall:

(1) Examine the:

(A) Needs of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias;

(B) Services available in the state for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and their family caregivers; and

(C) Ability of healthcare providers and facilities to meet the current and future needs of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias; and

(2) Consider and make findings and recommendations on the following, which shall be known as the "State Alzheimer's Plan":

(A) Trends in the state's Alzheimer's disease and other dementia populations and service needs, including without limitation:

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

(ii) The state's policies regarding individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias;

(iii) The fiscal impact of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias on publicly funded healthcare programs; and

(iv) The establishment of a surveillance system to better determine the number of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and to monitor changes to the number of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias;

(B) Existing resources, services, and capacity relating to the diagnosis and care of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, including without limitation:

(i) The type, cost, and availability of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias care services;

(ii) The availability of healthcare workers who can serve people with dementia, including without limitation neurologists, geriatricians, and direct care workers;

(iii) Dementia-specific training requirements for public and private employees who interact with people living with Alzheimer's or other dementias, including without limitation long-term care workers, case managers, adult protective services, law enforcement, and first responders;

(iv) Home-based and community-based services, including without limitation respite care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and their families;

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

(vi) State-supported Alzheimer's and other dementias research conducted at universities located in this state; and

(C) Policies and strategies that address:

(i) Increasing public awareness of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias;

(ii) Educating healthcare providers to increase early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias;

(iii) Improving the health care received by individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias;

(iv) Evaluating the capacity of the healthcare system in meeting the growing number and needs of those individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias;

(v) Increasing the number of healthcare professionals available to treat the growing aging and Alzheimer's disease and dementia populations;

(vi) 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 dementias;

(vii) Improving long-term care, including without limitation assisted living, for those individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias;

(viii) Assisting unpaid Alzheimer's disease and other dementias caregivers;

(ix) Increasing and improving research on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias;

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

(xi) Improving the collection of data and information related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and their public health burdens;

(xii) Improving public safety for and addressing the safety-related needs of those individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias;

(xiii) Addressing legal protections for and legal issues faced by individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias; and

(xiv) Improving the ways in which the state government evaluates and adopts policies to assist individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias and their families.

Ark. Code § 20-8-1102

Added by Act 2021, No. 391,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.