DES MOINES — Families of rural Iowans with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia face a crucial lack of mental health services and advocates recently met with some rural residents today to assess their most important needs.
Iowa has only 26 geriatricians practicing in the state. The Alzheimer’s Association says the state needs at least four times as many to meet the growing demand by 2050, and 32% more direct care workers for dementia patients by 2030.
The Alzheimer’s Association Iowa chapter communications director Lauren Livingston says the current provider shortage falls most heavily on rural Iowa, which has been declared a dementia care “desert.” “Most rural communities are unfortunately not lucky enough to have even a neurologist that is specialized in Alzheimer’s disease and can help diagnose,” Livingston pointed out. “Even with that first step of diagnosis, there isn’t anywhere to even get a referral to a doctor who would know how to diagnose it or what the next steps were.”
The Alzheimer’s Association says 11% of Iowans age 65 and older are living with the disease. A recent online forum was designed to hear from affected rural residents about their most pressing concerns. Livingston notes they hope to get good information from rural health care providers, families and caregivers about the types of support services missing in their communities. “Then from there, we want to be able to put together more of a plan of how we can help in these rural communities and close that gap,” Livingston emphasizes.
Roughly 62,000 Iowans live with Alzheimer’s disease, and another 100,000 are unpaid family caregivers. AARP Iowa is pushing for a measure in the state legislature to offer them a tax credit to help offset their out-of-pocket care expenses.
