Democratic State Rep. Joanne Ferrary, who won re-election in District 37 in November, has a personal connection to Alzheimer’s disease.
She said she and her husband took care of her mother-in-law who had severe dementia and died at 94.
“My husband and I took care of her even though she was in independent living, and then had to move into different progressive [facilities] and then to the Alzheimer’s unit at [The Village at] Northrise,” Ferrary said. “But in the meantime and throughout, we would always be involved in taking her to the doctor or helping her with different shopping she needed, you know things that some caregivers do on their own in their own home. And so, I have a little understanding of how important that support is for the person.”
Ferrary and the New Mexico chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association hosted a town hall at Centennial High School ahead of the 2019 legislative session to identify caregiving needs to bring to state lawmakers.
The Alzheimer’s Association estimates 5.7 million Americans of all ages lived with the neurodegenerative disease in 2018, although it mainly affects seniors. The organization projects the number of New Mexicans with Alzheimer’s dementia aged 65 and older will rise from 39 thousand people in 2018 to 53 thousand in 2025, increasing more than one-third.
New Mexico Chapter Public Policy Director Tommy Hernandez said the group is seeing a sharp rise in demand for its services in Doña Ana County.
“Particularly from the Spanish-speaking community as well as family caregivers as a whole. We are seeing that the population in the southern half of New Mexico continues to rise in comparison to other places throughout the state,” Hernandez said.
Along with an aging baby boomer population, Hernandez said other factors account for that rapid increase.
“First and foremost, however is that Alzheimer’s does seem to be more prevalent in minority populations. It’s approximately two times more likely to be developed in Hispanic populations as well as Native American populations. Women also show a higher likelihood to develop the disease too,” Hernandez said.
Alzheimer’s Association Ambassador Sandy Johnson said her mother lived with the disease for nearly a decade before her death in 2005. Before her mother’s diagnosis, Johnson and her brother lived across the country which made it difficult to arrange the proper care in Phoenix.
Johnson said she experienced the full impact of her mom’s decline once she visited at Christmas.
“I flew down for Christmas and realized, spent that Christmas realizing that she hadn’t paid any bills for the past several months and the car license had expired and her insurance had expired and things like that,” Johnson said. “And so being far away, I couldn’t know those things ahead of time like many people who live close to their parents would have that opportunity to realize those things.”
While Johnson said her mother had enough money to pay for her long-term care, she and many other New Mexicans don’t and supports expanding Medicaid funding for low-income residents with Alzheimer’s. Several cities and counties including Doña Ana County adopted Medicaid buy-in resolutions this year.
During the 2019 legislative session, Ferrary said she and other state lawmakers plan to reintroduce the Caregiver Leave Act, which outgoing Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed in 2017.
“It will make sure that public and private employers who offer sick leave will allow people to also use that sick leave to help care for their loved ones and this is something that’s important that we have that available because there are so many people, 277 thousand people are caregivers for their loved ones and so their support to be able to take some of that time and you know, be able to support the extra things that their loved ones might need,” Ferrary said.
2018 data from the Alzheimer’s Association shows the number of caregivers in New Mexico is actually 107 thousand people but healthcare costs for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias in the U.S. totaled $277 billion.
To ease finances, Hernandez said the Alzheimer’s Association offers a variety of free programs including a respite care program that gives families an allowance to take a break from caregiving and a six-week skills training course. Hernandez said the Las Cruces town hall is the first of several the association plans to host.
“We understand that there are communities much like Las Cruces that are experiencing an increase in family caregivers and the need for help,” Hernandez said. “So, we are going to continue to engage all lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to determine pieces of legislation and reforms and possible funding that can help us deliver our mission, and really that mission is to end Alzheimer’s. But until we come up with the cure for that disease, we understand that there are many programs and services that we can offer while we are pursuing that cure.”
New Mexico’s 2019 legislative session begins January 15.
