LETTER | Alzheimer’s education in rural medicine necessary for early diagnoses

I lost my wife Paula in October after her seven-year journey as one of at least 16,500 South Dakotans living with Alzheimer’s. As all caregivers and those living with the disease know, there are a multitude of problems brought on by this tragic disease. The sooner an accurate diagnosis is made, the better for everyone as you deal with the many challenges.

Primary care providers, especially in rural areas like South Dakota, are often the first clinicians with whom individuals discuss cognition concerns. Yet, they often say they are not confident dealing with Alzheimer’s and other dementia and don’t have access to education on the topic. Paula’s primary care provider shared that with us and fortunately referred us to a neurologist who specialized in Alzheimer’s and dementia conditions. Tremendous advancements in research for diagnoses and treatment of Alzheimer’s occurred in the last year, making an earlier diagnosis and provider education more important than ever.

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Bipartisan legislation before Congress called the Accelerating Access to Alzheimer’s Provider Training (AADAPT) Act will assist primary care providers to better diagnose Alzheimer's and other dementia and deliver high-quality, person-centered care in our communities. Increase in education in the detection, diagnosis, care and treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementias will be available to more healthcare providers, which is critical because of the continual increase in cases of Alzheimer’s.

South Dakota’s members of Congress, whose offices I and other advocates with the Alzheimer’s Association have visited in Washington, D.C. and across the state, can play an important role in accelerating dementia workforce preparedness. Please join me in encouraging Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson to add their cosponsorship of the AADAPT Act for South Dakota families like mine.

John Chicoine
Sioux Falls