A coalition of health officials, nonprofits and elected leaders this week unveiled a proposed state plan to cope with the impacts of Alzheimers disease and related dementias in Oregonians. The plan comes from a task force charged with addressing Alzheimers as a major public health challenge, an assessment echoed in a national plan.

Among the findings is the estimate that about 76,000 people in Oregon about the same number as the population of Umatilla County are living with Alzheimers now. That number is expected to grow as our ample boomer generation ages.

The plan (featured in a page one story in Thursdays East Oregonian) seeks to lay out strategies for dealing with everything from the stigma associated with dementia to education for care providers and the availability of resources.

Anyone who has lived with a relative suffering from Alzheimers or a related dementia knows the tremendous toll it can take on loved ones and family life. The task force adds a dimension to that, projecting a toll on our community health and safety infrastructure as well.

Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, director of geriatric neurology at Oregon Health and Sciences University, offers this perspective: The state plan is an important first step toward addressing a major public health challenge that will overtake us, unless all of us families, physicians, researchers, service organizations and policy makers work together.

This is particularly important for the rural areas of Eastern Oregon, where services already are stretched by distance, economics and availability. Umatilla and Morrow counties, with an aging population and tremendous size, are no exception.

Those of us who live in the more urban areas of Oregon are fortunate to have a variety of resources available to help our loved ones with dementia, but these resources are spotty and unavailable in many other areas, said Dee Whitney, whose husband Bill is living with Alzheimers. While Portland has a number of geriatric physicians, other areas have one or none nearby.

She and the other backers hope the plan will improve access to resources throughout the state.

The task force is setting up meetings across the state to discuss that effort. No surprise, the meetings tend to be in larger population areas, but our area is fortunate because there is a meeting Aug. 16 in Pendleton.

Those who attend likely will hear about the need for more education and public awareness, as well as better access to health services.

The rural areas Eastern Oregon, in particular must have a voice in how we address these issues as a state, and how services are delivered throughout the state.

After all, the impact at least on a per capita basis isnt likely to be greater anywhere else in the state than it will be right here on our aging frontier.