State Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, is one of 18 state legislators who co-sponsored a piece of legislation voicing the Legislature’s support for the State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Oregon, a proposal listing several ways the state government could better prepare for a coming Alzheimer’s epidemic. A coalition of legislators, nonprofits and health care professionals released the plan in July.
The 42-page document calls on the state to create a one-stop shop for people who have questions about Alzheimer’s, assess its ability to house Alzheimer’s sufferers in nursing homes, teach all health care students about dementia no matter what their field, and expand the access people who live in rural areas have to Alzheimer’s specialists through telemedicine.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, which was posted to the Legislature’s website on Monday, also recognizes the Legislature’s sentiment “that people with Alzheimer’s Disease or a related dementia and their families must have all of the information and support they need and services delivered as effectively and efficiently as possible."
— From staff reports
