In December 2011, the Commission released the first Dementia State Plan. This was updated in 2015, 2019 and again in 2023. The Commission will continue its work through implementing the Virginia Dementia State Plan 2024-2027: Building a Dementia-Capable Virginia published on January 2, 2024. The Plan maintains a focus on coordinated care through a network of memory assessment clinics and connections to public health initiatives, and in 2024 added, in line with the National Alzheimer’s Plan, a new sixth goal related to brain health and dementia risk reduction. Elevating brain health and risk reduction in this way recognizes both the dramatic increase in knowledge in recent years that supports dementia prevention efforts, and the ongoing BOLD grant-funded activity by the Virginia Department of Health, DARS and other partners.

The Plan guides legislators, other public officials, health and human services professionals, advocates, and other interested people on best practices and specific strategies for dementia-focused data collection, care, training, and research and prevention.

The goals of the Virginia Dementia State Plan 2024-2027 are:

1. Coordinate quality dementia services to ensure dementia capability;

2. Use dementia-related data to support policy development and service provision, and to improve public health outcomes;

3. Increase awareness and promote dementia-specific training;

4. Provide access to quality coordinated care for individuals living with dementia in the most integrated setting;

5. Expand resources for dementia-specific translational research and evidence-based practices; and

6. Enhance brain health and address modifiable risk factors for dementia.

The Virginia Dementia State Plan 2024-2027, working in tandem with the National Alzheimer’s Plan, provides the best guide to responding to dementia and providing support to the increasing number of Virginians living with the disease and their care providers, whether paid or unpaid. In 2020, there were an estimated 164,000 Virginians living with Alzheimer’s disease, and 2023 data from the Virginia Department of Health showed that 16.0% of people over the age of 45 are living with some form of cognitive decline that is felt to be getting worse over time. That translates to roughly 450,000 people, and as the number of people over 45 continues to rise, and with the most rapid increase expected in the over 85 range, this number is also expected to grow steadily in coming years. This growth highlights the importance of the Plan and the Commission’s ongoing efforts, and especially of addressing brain health and improving efforts to prevent future dementias.