Area residents will have a chance to help steer the statewide conversation about Alzheimer's disease at Penn State's Worthington Scranton campus on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania Alzheimer's Disease Planning Committee's regional meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the college's Gallagher Conference Center in Dunmore.
Brian Duke, the state's secretary of aging, said the feedback will be used to help form a comprehensive plan to address Alzheimer's and related disorders, which currently afflict 400,000 Pennsylvanians.
Duke hopes the final product will address prevention and outreach, support for lifestyle changes and health care delivery.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. The affliction is the sixth-leading cause of death, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
"My belief is everyone is touched by Alzheimer's in some way," Duke said during a phone interview Sunday. The secretary said he was a direct caregiver to his mother when she suffered from the disease.
Given population projections, the problem is on track to worsen.
Pennsylvania is already "the fourth grayest state in the nation," Duke said, and some population projections indicate by 2030, about one in four state residents will be older than 60.
Catherine Tucker of Penn State University authored a study last year projecting the state's population of people aged 65 and older will increase 64 percent in the next 20 years.
Between 2010 and 2027, the study predicts Pennsylvania's 65-plus population will increase from about 2 million to nearly 3 million because of increased life expectancy and aging Baby Boomers.
The Alzheimer's Association reported one in three senior citizens dies with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.
University of Scranton aging expert Herb Hauser, Ph.D., hopes the committee's forums will advance the conversation not only about how to better help patients, but also caregivers.
For patients, "more and more their world becomes alien and different to them," Hauser said. "But the disorder has a ripple effect all around the patient's social structure."
Watching a loved one deteriorate from the disease can be emotionally difficult, Hauser said. Caregivers often get overwhelmed, burned out and financially tapped out.
The Alzheimer's Association reported 15.4 million caregivers provided an estimated 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued At more than $216 billion in 2012. 
When the planning committee's work is done, Duke said the idea is for major players in the Alzheimer's world like governments, medical researchers and caregivers to all advance components.
Leah Kithcart, public policy coordinator of the Pennsylvania Public Policy Coalition, said the plan's goals should include confronting the costs of home care and diagnostics and educating doctors and families to get earlier diagnoses while encouraging better planning.
People interested in testifying can at Tuesday's meeting can register by calling (717) 425-5115. Written comments can be submitted by e-mailing alzstateplan@pa .gov or PA Alzheimer's State Plan, 555 Walnut St., fifth floor, Harrisburgh, PA 17101.
kwind@timesshamrock.com
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