Alzheimer's disease is a growing public health crisis in New York. The impact of Alzheimer's is projected to rise, and the most recent data show:

• 427,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in New York.
• 7.1% of people aged 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline.
• 543,000 family caregivers bear the burden of the disease in New York.
• 879 million hours of unpaid care provided by Alzheimer's caregivers.
• $16 billion is the value of the unpaid care.
• $18.9 billion is the cost of Alzheimer's to the state Medicaid program.

These numbers show that a public health approach is necessary to lessen the burden and enhance the quality of life for those living with cognitive impairment and their families.

Learn more about New York: Alzheimer's Statistics (PDF), Cognitive Decline (PDF), Dementia Caregiving (PDF), Risk Factors (PDF), County-Level Alzheimer's Prevalence (PDF)

Tribes in your state

Use the HBI Road Map for American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples to start conversations with tribal leaders on public health actions that can be taken to support brain health and caregivers. Find tribal leaders and federally recognized tribes in your state: Tribal Leaders Directory.

Public health spotlight

In New York, the State Department of Health oversees the Alzheimer's Disease Caregiver Support Initiative (ADCSI), a five-year initiative designed to support caregivers and people with dementia in the community using evidence-based strategies.

Read the evaluation of the first year of the initiative.

State plan overview

The New York State Coordinating Council for Services Related to Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (Council) was established in 2007 by Public Health Law § 2004-a (Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2007, Part B). The Council was formed to facilitate interagency planning and policy-making, review specific agency initiatives for their impact on services related to the care of persons with dementia and their families, and provide a continuing forum for concerns and discussions related to the formulation of a comprehensive state policy for Alzheimer's disease.

The Council is charged with providing reports to the Governor and the Legislature every two years beginning in June 2009. The reports must set forth the Council's recommendations for state policy relating to dementia and include a review of services initiated and coordinated by public and private agencies to meet the needs of persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and their families, this report provides a beginning to this review. New York’s first state Alzheimer’s plan, the Annual Report of the New York State Coordinating Council for Services Related to Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias in December 2009 with updated reports published in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Resources for action

State and local public health agencies around the country are taking action against Alzheimer's by implementing the Healthy Brain Initiative: State and Local Road Map for Public Health, 2023–2027. Public health practitioners can learn by example and find resources to help guide their response below.