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Why there’s a need for innovative dementia care

By Dawn Yankeelov

Lexington and Louisville tend to have the highest number of facilities for dementia care in Kentucky, as the interest in finding help in all Kentucky markets continues to rise, according statistical evidence.

The Alzheimer’s Association 2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, released this spring, showed that an estimated 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s dementia in 2018, including 71,000 in Kentucky. By 2025, the report projects a 21.1 percent increase in the number of people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia in Kentucky alone.

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in Kentucky, the report said. In Kentucky, there were 1,694 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease in 2015 – over a 10 percent increase from 2014.  In 2017, 272,000 Kentuckians, as a part of a national count, provided many hours of unpaid care, including physical, emotional and financial support for the estimated 5.7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s.

The average cost of Memory Care in Kentucky is $4,403 per month. This is higher than the national average which is $2,958 per month, according to Seniorhomes.com.

The Kentucky Neuroscience Institute Memory Disorders Clinic in Lexington offers initial evaluations for memory loss with late-life cognitive disorders, which includes Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

The  University of Kentucky-Alzheimer’s Disease Center physicians provide a thorough assessment for patients with memory concerns at the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute Memory Disorders Clinic. Following evaluation, patients may be asked to participate in UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Clinic studies.

For appointments and information: (859) 323-5661.

See infographic here: https://executor.org/blog/understanding-dementia-infographic/