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

• 22,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s in Rhode Island.
• 10.2% of people aged 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline.
• 36,000 family caregivers bear the burden of the disease in Rhode Island.
• 51 million hours of unpaid care provided by Alzheimer’s caregivers.
• $1.1 billion is the value of the unpaid care.
• $565 million 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 Rhode Island: 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

The Rhode Island Department of Health state epidemiologist and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) coordinator analyzed the state’s Cognitive Module data to better understand the burden of subjective cognitive decline and co-morbidities. To educate health care providers and health leaders, they published the results in the Rhode Island Medical Journal. View Subjective Cognitive Decline and Associated Health Problems among Rhode Island Adults.

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RI DOH) created the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Program — including a full-time state employee — to better assess the state’s preparation and ability to respond to Alzheimer’s.

The Rhode Island Department of Health partnered with local agencies to educate and train health care professionals about person-centered care for people living with dementia.

In September 2020, the Rhode Island Department of Health received a Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Program Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

State plan overview

In April 2012, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 2858, directing the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council to lead a workgroup on the development of a state plan, to be co-chaired by the chair of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, the lieutenant governor or designee and the director of the division of elderly affairs. The Workgroup collected public feedback and published Rhode Island’s State Plan on Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders in September 2013. In February 2019, the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council published the 2019 update, Rhode Island State Plan on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, which creates a position within the State Department of health to address Alzheimer’s, establishes an advisory council to oversee activity, establishes training requirement for medical professionals, and requires health care facilities to have plans to serve those with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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.