New Jersey § 26:2m-21

§ 26:2m-21.

a. The responsibilities of the Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Long-Term Advisory Commission

established pursuant to this act shall include, but not be limited to: (1) studying the incidence, prevalence, and impact of Alzheimer's disease and related

disorders or other forms of dementia in the State and in each region of the State

and make projections about the future Statewide and regional incidence, prevalence,

and impact of these conditions; (2) gathering, analyzing, and disseminating to health care professionals, policymakers,

and members of the public, as appropriate, data and information about: (a) the needs

of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia,

as well as the needs of their family members and caregivers; (b) the quality and

consistency of care that is provided to persons with Alzheimer's disease and related

disorders or other forms of dementia in the State, including those members of the

medically underserved community, the low income community, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual,

transgender, questioning, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) communities; (c) the affordability

of care for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia in

the State and the actual and projected Statewide costs and individual costs associated

with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia in New Jersey,

including, but not limited to, the costs of health care, mental health care, long-term

care, and personal care, and ancillary or incidental costs such as those associated

with the lost work productivity of, or the treatment of stress-related physical conditions

or depression and other mental health conditions in, family caregivers; (d) the cost

savings attained by the State through the provision of unpaid caregiving and personal

care services by family caregivers; (e) the capacity of the State's health care and

long-term care facilities to house and provide specialized services to patients with

Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia; (f) the status

of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia care in other

states, as compared to New Jersey; and (g) with the approval of the Commissioner

of the Department of Human Services and subject to the availability of funds as designated

by the department, any other issue deemed by the commission to be relevant to effectuate

the purposes of this act; (3) assessing the availability and affordability of existing programs, services, facilities,

and agencies in the State that are used to meet the needs of persons with Alzheimer's

disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia and the needs of their families

and caregivers; evaluating the capacity of those existing policies, programs, services,

facilities, and agencies to adapt to, and adequately address, the changing needs of

dementia patients and their families and caregivers in the face of a continually increasing

demand for services; and identifying and recommending improvements to existing policies,

programs, services, facilities, or agencies or the institution of new policies, programs,

services, facilities, or agencies to address unmet and expanding needs in this area; (4) studying, and making recommendations to the Department of Human Services on, the

appropriate roles of State government, local governments, and health care facilities

and professionals in providing or ensuring the provision of appropriate services and

other assistance to persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other

forms of dementia, including persons in the early stages of disease, and in providing

or ensuring the provision of sufficient supportive and assistive services, including

training and respite services, to unpaid family caregivers; and identifying ways

in which State and local governments and health care systems could increase their

awareness of, and improve their ability to more effectively address, issues affecting

persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia

and their families; (5) reviewing and analyzing the capacity of law enforcement officers and emergency

medical responders in the State to compassionately and effectively interact with,

diffuse conflicts involving, and provide emergency services to, persons with Alzheimer's

disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia; (6) identifying and recommending best practices and training requirements for: (a)

health care and mental health care professionals, particularly geriatric specialists

and primary care practitioners, who are or will be practicing on the front lines of

caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms

of dementia, in order to ensure that such professionals are properly trained and are

capable of accurately and timely diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and related disorders

or other forms of dementia, understanding the progression of the disease, and recognizing

and responding to the evolving needs of patients; (b) personal care professionals

who provide services to patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or

other forms of dementia, in order to ensure that such professionals are capable of

providing compassionate and high-quality personal care services and adapting to the

evolving needs of their patients; and (c) law enforcement officers, emergency medical

responders, and other public safety officers, in order to ensure that those officers

understand the complexities of dealing with persons with Alzheimer's disease and related

disorders or other forms of dementia and are better prepared to compassionately diffuse

or resolve conflicts and respond to emergencies involving such persons; (7) evaluating the sufficiency of the State's Alzheimer's disease and related disorders

or other forms of dementia care workforce, identifying current and future workforce

needs, anticipating future workforce shortages, developing innovative strategies to

encourage and increase the recruitment and retention of health care, mental health

care, direct support, and personal care professionals who are trained to provide care

for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia, and taking

any other action necessary to encourage and facilitate the development and maintenance

of a robust and specialized professional Statewide workforce that is capable of delivering

high-quality care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other

forms of dementia to a rapidly growing population in the State; and (8) studying and making recommendations on any other issue related to Alzheimer's

disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia. b. One year after the commission's organizational meeting, annually thereafter for

a period of no less than five years, and thereafter upon request of the Legislature

or as determined by the commission, the commission shall prepare and submit a written

report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c. 164 ( C.52:14-19.1 ), to the Legislature. The written report shall contain, at a minimum: (1) the commission's annual findings on the issues described in subsection a. of this

section; (2) a description as to whether, how, and why the commission's findings have changed

over time, including an indication as to the implementation status of the commission's

prior recommendations, a description of actions that have been undertaken by any person

or public or private entity in the State over the prior reporting period to implement

those prior recommendations, and a description of the perceived or documented effects

resulting from implementation of those prior recommendations; (3) a copy of, or reference to, the statistical, demographic, testimonial, or other

data or information that was used by the commission to: (a) support its current findings

under paragraph (1) of this subsection; or (b) inform its analysis of the impact

of the commission's prior recommendations under paragraph (2) of this subsection. The data provided pursuant to this paragraph shall be presented in aggregate form

and shall not contain the personal identifying information of any patient, caregiver,

or other person; and (4) the commission's recommendations for actions that can be undertaken, or strategies

that can be implemented, to: (a) improve the quality, consistency, or affordability

of care for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia in

the State and ensure the accessibility of care to all who need it; (b) reduce, eliminate,

or mitigate the societal and individual impact of, and the Statewide, local, and individual

costs or financial burdens associated with, Alzheimer's disease and related disorders

or other forms of dementia; (c) ensure that the State's professional workforce is

adequately trained, is capable of providing affordable, high-quality care for patients

with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia throughout

the State, and is sufficient in numbers and flexible enough to adapt to a rapidly

increasing demand for services in the State; (d) ensure that unpaid caregivers in

the State are recognized for their dedicated service and significant contributions

to society and are provided with sufficient supportive and respite services, as well

as financial assistance where possible and appropriate, as may be necessary for them

to capably perform their caregiving tasks while avoiding unnecessary physical, mental,

or financial strain; or (e) otherwise address the issues or mitigate the problems

identified by the commission in its annual findings.