TORRINGTON – Goshen County has been attempting to deal with a major health issue with few local resources available.

Many local agencies are in full support of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia awareness activities to reach out to others to assist as best they can.
The Goshen County Alzheimer’s Dementia Awareness Group has been providing free memory screenings at the local Senior Friendship Center since Jan. 18. Only three people out of 40 who participated in the checkups had ever had a memory screening. The average age was 74, of which 80 percent were female and 20 percent were male.
The Goshen County Alzheimer’s Dementia Awareness Group is also creating two new support groups for family caregivers within the county beginning in April. Caregivers of those with dementia-related illness are welcome to attend any of the groups at the scheduled times provided. There is no charge for these support gatherings. All Saint’s Episcopal group meets 10 to 11 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Two new groups will meet the first and third Mondays of each month. One Monday group will meet from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Senior Friendship Center. The second Monday group will get together from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Goshen County Library.
Those who plan to participate in a support group, please email billymarsh@outlook.com or call the Senior Center at (307) 532-2796. This action will assist us in providing materials to be utilized in our meetings.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and as many as 16 million will have the disease in 2050. The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is estimated to total $259 billion in 2017, increasing to $1.1 trillion (in today’s dollars) by mid-century. Nearly one in every three seniors who dies each year has Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
In Wyoming, 9,400 residents are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2025, this number is expected to increase by 38.3 percent. Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer’s in 2017 was $71 million, with an expected increase of 52.1 percent by 2025.
In 2016, 28,000 Wyoming family caregivers provided 32,000,000 hours of unpaid care valued at $400 million. Alzheimer’s disease is the most expensive disease in the U.S., costing $259 billion in 2017.
Visit alz.org/facts for more information.