HARRY HUGHES, Governor

2227

CHAPTER 632

(Senate Bill 133)

AN ACT concerning

Alzheimer's Disease - Demographic Study

FOR the purpose of requiring the Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene to conduct a demographic study concerning
Alzheimer's disease and related disorders in this State;
providing for the basis for the study under this Act;
requiring the Department to report the results of the study;
and generally relating to a demographic study of Alzheimer's
disease and related disorders.

Preamble

WHEREAS, The Governor's Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease
and Related Disorders studied the problems associated with these
debilitating disorders and issued its final report on June 30,
1985; and

WHEREAS, This study provides a fresh and timely review of
the effects of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, along
with suggesting legislative and administrative proposals that may
alleviate some of the drastic effects of these debilitating
disorders; and

WHEREAS, In order to assure wise use of its resources, the
State must promote demographic, epidemiologic, and health
services data development on Alzheimer's disease and related
disorders; and

WHEREAS, A technique for obtaining the needed data has been
preeminently demonstrated on a limited geographic basis by
investigators of the Johns Hopkins University in the East
Baltimore study; and

WHEREAS, The State must arrange for extensions of these
studies to gather data representative of various populations,
including minority groups, age and sex categories, and rural and
urban communities, as well as to develop statewide projections;
and

WHEREAS, The State also must conduct in depth, focused
studies to follow up leads that will be opened by the basic

demographic, epidemiologic, and health services data; now,

therefore,

WHEREAS, The National Institute of Mental Health, in
cooperation with Johns Hopkins University, has conducted a study
of mental disorders at seven sites throughout the country
including East Baltimore, and this study has provided a data base