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

• 111,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s in Wisconsin.
• 13.3% of people aged 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline.
• 205,000 family caregivers bear the burden of the disease in Wisconsin.
• 297 million hours of unpaid care provided by Alzheimer’s caregivers.
• $5.98 billion is the value of the unpaid care.
• $1 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 Wisconsin: 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 September 2020, Wisconsin received an enhanced Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Program Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through this grant, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is utilizing existing public health infrastructure to increase early detection and diagnosis, reduce the risk of developing dementia, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, and support dementia caregiving.

State plan overview

Wisconsin is in the process of implementing the Wisconsin State Dementia Plan: 2019–2023, its third state dementia plan. The current state plan has four areas of focus:

1. Care provided in communities where people live.
2. Improving how health care providers diagnose and care for people with dementia.
3. Responding to crises involving people with dementia.
4. Care provided in assisted living, nursing homes and other residential facilities.

A steering committee, led by the Department of Health Services, was established to ensure the state plan is implemented with the assistance of four “leadership teams” (work groups) that are responsible for assisting the Steering Committee in each of the four focus areas: care in the communities, health care, crisis response and facilities-based care.

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.