CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The state will soon be getting a new Dementia Services Director.
House Bill 2575 establishes the full-time position and adds the section to The Alzheimer’s Special Care Standards Act.
“We will have a go to person and department to answer and address all constituents’ services for families living with dementia or other dementia illnesses,” said Kanawha County Delegate Walter Hall who was recently on 580 Live with Dave Allen.
Hall, who has been trained as a community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association for the past 12 years and is the co-chair of Dementia Friendly St. Alban’s was the main sponsor of the bill.
Dementia is described as a group of systems affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities which interfere with day-to-day life. The disease typically effects people 65 and older.
The House and the Senate both passed the bill unanimously and it became law on April 30th without Governor Patrick Morrisey’s signature.
He said that 28 other states had a person for this job, but West Virginia didn’t.
This bill comes after another bill Hall helped pass in 2023.
“Two years ago, we passed a bill to create a taskforce, we formulated 19 volunteers from across the state to address the needs of families dealing with dementia,” Hall said.
He said through this taskforce they were able to discover that the state desperately needed a full time position to cover these needs.
Says that he has been honored to have been able to work with the Alzheimer’s Association because of what he’s been able to accomplish.
“I’ve been blessed to follow the Alzheimer’s Association’s lead and get two bills passed in dealing with this illness,”
Th director’s main responsibilities will be to coordinate the implementation of the State Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementia plan, evaluate the coordination of dementia services within the state, and evaluate all applicable state government services make recommendations to increase efficiency and improve quality of care in residential and home and community-based settings among other things.
The bill goes into effect on Friday July 11.