SC Alzheimers advocates earn national recognition for statewide efforts [Video]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – Coordinated, statewide efforts are underway to help the hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias and their caregivers.

These efforts in the fight against this cruel disease are now gaining national recognition and serving as a model for other states.

Advocates say South Carolina has long prioritized dementia support. For example, South Carolina established the nation’s first Alzheimer’s registry more than 30 years ago.

But this work has been taken to the next level in recent years.

“As our numbers started to creep up, as we started to get more data, we started to recognize that South Carolina was really at higher risk of having more families facing dementia than other states with less comorbidities. The legislature looked at those numbers and responded,” Taylor Wilson, the advocacy manager for the Alzheimer’s Association’s South Carolina chapter, said.

These efforts were recently recognized …