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Support and caution for creating state Alzheimer’s advisory council; coalition work already under way via CDC BOLD grant
Summary
Witnesses largely supported HB 6912 to establish an Alzheimer's disease and dementia advisory council but several, including Department of Aging and Disability Services, urged delay or coordination because a CDC BOLD‑funded statewide coalition and a dementia services coordinator are already implementing a state plan.
Department and advocacy witnesses told the Aging Committee they support the aims of House Bill 6912 — creating a 14‑member Alzheimer's disease and dementia advisory council — but several urged coordination with existing statewide efforts funded by a CDC BOLD grant.
Amy Porter, Commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, said much of the work in HB 6912 is already being done through the Connecticut Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Coalition, which formed under a CDC BOLD (Building our Largest Dementia) grant awarded to the Department of Public Health in 2021. “Much of the work that's contemplated in this bill is already being accomplished by the Connecticut Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Coalition as part of a grant at DPH,” Porter said, and recommended delaying action until the coalition’s governance and sustainability planning is complete as the grant period ends.
Ginny Hanbridge, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association Connecticut chapter, and Christie Kovel, the Association’s director of public policy, supported creation of an advisory council as a smaller, appointed body to sustain and update the state plan and to maintain priority attention should grant funding lapse. Kovel noted the 2023 Connecticut State Plan resulted from the coalition’s work and said smaller advisory councils are common in other states to ensure continuity.
Michael Warner and Megan Baker of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity supported the bill and urged inclusion of people with lived experience and diverse communities; Baker said outreach to AAPI, Black and Latino communities should be prioritized.
Testimony summarized the coalition’s scope: more than 50 representatives from about 40 organizations, involvement of multiple state agencies, and work that produced a five‑year Connecticut State Plan to address Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Speakers asked the committee to ensure that any new statutory council is designed to coordinate with the existing coalition and the dementia services coordinator within ADS and to avoid creating overlapping bodies that could duplicate efforts.
