With the number of Albertans living with dementia projected to triple by 2050, researchers and care advocates are calling for stronger provincial oversight and coordination of dementia care services. More than 50,000 Albertans currently live with dementia, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, and that figure is expected to approach 200,000 by mid-century.
StillMe Event to Address Care Challenges
Alzheimer Calgary is hosting an event Wednesday evening as part of StillMe, a Calgary-based movement focused on reducing stigma and raising awareness about dementia. The gathering will bring together people living with dementia, caregivers, health-care professionals, and research leaders to discuss ways to improve care and access to support in Alberta.
Dr. Saskia Sivananthan, founder and CEO of the Brainwell Institute and featured speaker at the event, said the initiative aims to provide hope to those affected by the disease while advancing conversations about improving access to care across the province.
“People tend to think of dementia as a hopeless condition … but this is a very long journey, and along that journey there is a lot of hope,” Sivananthan said. “There’s a lot of ways in which people living with dementia can still live their lives with purpose, and their families and care partners can help them with that.”
Fragmented System Poses Major Hurdles
Sivananthan identified one of the biggest challenges for patients and families as navigating a fragmented system marked by long waits for a clear diagnosis and confusion about available services.
“It seems no matter which province you’re in, all people are really struggling to know how to access (dementia) services,” she said. “They’re waiting up to a year, if not more, just to get a clear diagnosis.”
Research by the Brainwell Institute shows that centralized coordination has improved care outcomes for people with major health conditions like cancer and stroke. However, Sivananthan noted that similar provincial accountability does not exist for dementia care, despite the growing number of affected individuals.
Opportunity Amid Health System Reform
Although the issue spans Canada, Sivananthan highlighted Alberta’s ongoing health-care system restructuring as a unique opportunity to build a provincewide model for dementia care coordination.
“It’s a big opportunity for Alberta, given the new health system reforms that are happening,” she said. “That coordination has really transformed how the people living with those conditions access the services and the quality of life they have.”
She likened the current system to an airport operating without air traffic control. “Imagine if you were flying, but you didn’t have any inner traffic controllers,” she said. “You have flights that are crashing or there’s pile-ups on the runway — that’s what is happening with dementia.”
