Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul joins resolution declaring Alzheimer’s disease a “public health crisis”
Kathy Hochul has joined 12 other lieutenant governors from across the country in a resolution proclaiming Alzheimer’s disease as a public health crisis. The resolution was issued by the National Lieutenant Governors Association at its annual conference in June.
“Lt. Gov. Hochul’s participation in this resolution affirms New York’s place as a leader in care and support for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia,” said Ian Magerkurth, New York State Director of Government Affairs for New York State. “The executive and legislative branches of our state have met the Alzheimer’s crisis head-on by supporting innovative, compassionate programs. The resolution acknowledges a crisis that the Empire State has intervened in for many years.”
For more than two decades, the New York State has provided funding for support services through the Alzheimer’s Disease Community Assistance Program (AlzCAP) and the former Alzheimer’s Disease Community Support Program (AlzCSP). In 2015, the state introduced the Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver Support Initiative, a $50 million program to fund caregiving programs throughout the state.
The resolution recognizes Alzheimer’s disease as an “urgent public health crisis impacting the nation’s health care infrastructure” requiring the implementation of the Healthy Brain Initiative: State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia, The 2018–2023 Road Map, a publication of the Alzheimer’s Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, the group encouraged its members to “support investment in a nationwide public health response to this crisis to reduce risk for cognitive decline, optimize the health, well-being, and functioning of people living with dementia and their caregivers, and mitigate associated costs for individuals and for the government by encouraging public health departments to implement effective Alzheimer’s interventions such as increasing early detection and diagnosis, reducing risk and preventing avoidable hospitalizations.”
Hochul is nearing the end of her first term as lieutenant governor and will run in November 2018 on the Democratic line with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from the state’s 26th district.
The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA), organized in 1962, is the professional association for the elected officials first in line of succession to the governors in the 50 states and five U.S. territories. The purpose of NLGA is to promote efficiency and effectiveness of the office of lieutenant governor, to foster interstate cooperation, to provide a medium for the exchange of views and experiences on subjects important to the people of the states and territories, and to generally improve the efficiency of state and territorial administration through education on issues and leadership training.
