Photo credit: Aaron Lynett

Premiers from across the country are meeting in Niagara on the Lake this week for the 2013 Summer Meeting of the Council of the Federation.  Today’s focus was on health-care and other social issues.

In a news release earlier today, they announced that the Premiers had spoken about the importance of dementia.

“As our population ages, it is increasingly becoming an area of concern for provinces and territories. Premiers are determined to increase awareness, address the challenges and provide opportunities to improve early diagnosis and treatment. Premiers directed the Health Care Innovation Working Group to examine issues related to dementia, including identifying best practices for early diagnosis. Central to this is raising awareness of the early warning signs and various methods of intervention.”

This is very exciting news for people living with dementia across Canada. The leadership of Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers are making dementia an important priority issue for the Health Care Innovation Working Group.

Awareness and early diagnosis are both absolutely critical to opening the doors to treatment and support that will enable the 747,000 Canadians currently living with dementia, as well as their caregivers, to live more fulfilling lives and remain independent in their communities and at home longer.

Additionally, this is significant in making sure that our health-care systems are better positioned to respond to the growing needs of people with dementia and their caregivers more effectively.

In less than 20 years, an estimated 1.4 million Canadians will have dementia. Today’s announcement is good news. And a positive step in the right direction.

To learn more about the Impact of Dementia in Canada, visit: http://www.alzheimer.ca/en/Get-involved/Raise-your-voice/Dementia-in-canada.