Tagged: Catherine Taylor

State officials want to make it easier for people living with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them. Nearly 25,000 Rhode Islanders suffer from the disease, and an estimated 60,000 are their unpaid caregivers.

A work group spearheaded by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts and Division of Elderly Affairs chief Catherine Taylor has issued a set of recommendations in the state’s first comprehensive Alzheimer’s plan.

Catherine Taylor, Director of Rhode Island's Division of Elderly Affairs, joined us in our studio earlier to help us kick off our series, The Silver Boom: Aging in Rhode Island. You'll find a link to listen to that interview below.

She also sent us these thoughts about how Rhode Island seniors can break out of isolation and find help.

Rhode Island has the largest percentage of people age 85 and older in the nation, and the number is only going to grow as baby boomers begin to join that group. This week, Rhode Island Public Radio takes an in-depth look at older Rhode Islanders in a new series we’re calling The Silver Boom: Aging in Rhode Island.  To start us off, RIPR Morning Edition Host Elisabeth Harrison spoke with Catherine Taylor, Director of the State Division of Elderly Affairs.

Under the health care reform act, many preventive services like diabetes screenings, bone mass measurement, and so-called “Wellness” visits are now available for free (no co-payment) to Medicare recipients. (Medicare is health coverage for people over age 65.