The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is engulfed in an Alzheimer’s crisis. That disease — and other forms of dementia — is afflicting the Valley’s mostly Latino residents and taxing their caregivers.
As Public Health Watch staff writer Raquel Torres reported August 7, Texas ranks second in the nation for Alzheimer’s deaths and third in prevalence. But the state’s lack of funding for memory care and support, along with its ongoing refusal to expand Medicaid, is making matters worse.
Over the past two years, Texas has only allocated a total of $5.5 million to dementia care and support, despite having a nearly $33 billion budget surplus. That’s a strikingly low investment compared to other states facing Alzheimer’s crises. Georgia, for example, which has less than half as many dementia cases as Texas, spends $10 million a year.
The Texas Legislature recently voted to put before voters a $3 billion dementia research program. Even if the measure passes in November, there are questions about much funding will be directed to the Valley, one of the nation’s hot spots for this terrible disease.
Hear Raquel talk more about her work in this video:
Read her original story here: