Alzheimer’s Is Growing. Rhode Island Must Respond. – Meredith Sheehan, Guest MINDSETTER™
PHOTO: Tim Doerfler, Unsplash
Rhode Island is facing a growing public health crisis that too often remains invisible until it touches our own families. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are already reshaping the lives of thousands of Rhode Islanders, yet our state still lacks the infrastructure needed to respond effectively to this challenge.
Today, more than 24,000 Rhode Islanders are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly 11.4 percent of Rhode Island seniors are affected, and as our population ages, those numbers are expected to rise dramatically in the years ahead.
Behind these statistics are families carrying enormous burdens every single day. More than 37,000 Rhode Islanders currently provide unpaid care to loved ones living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, contributing an estimated 51 million hours of care annually. That means one in every 30 people in our state cares for someone with the disease! These caregivers often juggle careers, finances, parenting responsibilities, and their own health concerns while trying to navigate an incredibly complex care system.
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The economic impact is staggering as well. In 2025, Rhode Island Medicaid was projected to spend approximately $640 million caring for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is not only a healthcare issue — it is a major economic and public policy issue that affects every corner of our state.
And yet, despite the growing need, Rhode Island remains one of only five states in the nation — and the only state in New England — that appropriates zero dollars in its state budget for dementia-specific programs and services.
That must change.
Senate Bill 2874 sponsored by Sen. Lou DiPalma and House Bill 7542 sponsored by Rep. Julie Casimiro offers Rhode Island a practical, cost-effective, and compassionate solution: establishing a permanent position within the Rhode Island Department of Health: a full-time Dementia Services Coordinator.
This position would also improve coordination between agencies, reduce duplication of services, strengthen Rhode Island’s ability to secure federal funding, and help individuals remain safely in their homes and communities for as long as possible. A Dementia Services Coordinator would provide much-needed leadership and coordination among state agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, and caregivers. The position could help align services related to healthcare, housing, transportation, public safety, and other systems that support older adults, while ensuring that families have better access to resources, support, and quality care.
Importantly, this legislation would help create a permanent structure for dementia initiatives at a time when much of Rhode Island’s current work relies heavily on temporary federal grant funding.
Over the past several years, Rhode Island has made meaningful progress. The General Assembly established the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease (ADRD) and Related Dementias in 2019, leading to the development of the state’s 2024–2029 ADRD State Plan. Through federal CDC funding, the Department of Health has expanded dementia education, strengthened outreach efforts, and improved partnerships with healthcare providers and community organizations.
But progress without permanence is fragile.
A Dementia Services Coordinator would ensure these efforts are sustained, strengthened, and expanded as the number of Rhode Islanders living with dementia continues to grow.
Rhode Island would not be alone in taking this step. Thirty-three states — including neighboring Connecticut and Vermont — have already established similar positions. These states are seeing meaningful benefits, including earlier diagnoses, stronger caregiver support systems, and more effective community-based services.
Alzheimer’s disease does not discriminate by political party, geography, or income. Nearly every Rhode Island family will be touched by dementia in some way, either directly or through someone they love.
Establishing a Dementia Services Coordinator is not a symbolic gesture. It is a modest but critical investment in building the infrastructure Rhode Island needs to confront one of the defining healthcare challenges of our time.
If we truly want to support older adults, caregivers, and families, we must move beyond simply acknowledging the problem. We must build the systems necessary to address it.
Senate Bill 2874 and House Bill 7542 is an opportunity for Rhode Island to do exactly that.
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