Georgia’s scarcity of dementia services: ‘No one wants to assist us’

ATLANTA -- In recent months, Shemetricia Jones felt a jolt of fear every time her cell phone rang.

The incoming calls were increasingly about her mother, who had dementia: about how mom was hearing voices, how she had wandered into oncoming traffic, or how the cops were threatening to arrest her. Over the past year, Jones repeatedly tried to get her 58-year-old mom the care she needed, but nothing worked.

“No one wants to assist us. It’s like pulling teeth to try and get help,” said Jones, who lives in Atlanta, in an interview in mid-October. “We had to get locks on the doors to keep her inside.”

Just one week later, Jones’ mother died in her sleep, the exact cause still unknown.

Jones’ turbulent final months with her mom highlight an experience many caregivers in the United States face when their loved ones are diagnosed with dementia: one marked with frustration, isolation and fear of what’s next. The state is making strides to improve care for Georgians with dementia, and has poured funds into efforts focused on diagnosing people earlier, with the hope of slowing the disease’s progression. And there are signs of real progress: the state has opened clinics across the state to diagnose people with dementia, and hopes to start administering Alzheimer’s drugs that are coming onto the market.

But significant challenges remain. Dementia care is costly, and there’s currently a dearth of health care workers, as well as few specialists that focus on dementia.

In Jones’ case, her calls for help went unanswered.

She called the police who threatened to arrest her mom for wandering the neighborhood. She called a crisis hotline for Georgians and was told her mom didn’t qualify for help. She tried getting her mom on Medicaid, to no avail.

“Mom, she constantly struggles, and...