HARRISBURG, Pa. — Phil Gutis is in his early 60’s and has been living with Alzheimer’s for eight years.
“It’s a rollercoaster, no one day is the same," Gutis said. "You have good days and you have bad days.”
The disease is also personal for Marlon Martin, whose parents both passed away from forms of dementia.
“I could say ‘I love you’ but I couldn’t get it back, I could look in [my dad's] eyes but I didn’t know if he knew who I was, and that’s very hard," Martin explained. "Same thing with my mom at the end. It was very difficult.”
Both men are now advocates for the Alzheimer’s Association and were in Harrisburg on Tuesday as Governor Shapiro gave his budget address.
The governor's proposed budget includes a $1.9 million investment that would support the establishment of an Alzheimer's Disease Division at the Department of Aging to support families living with the disease.
If created, it would be a first of its kind in Pennsylvania.
“The fact that Governor Shapiro is taking this historic step is so critical and so important for those of us living with the disease and those of us who are caregivers," said Gutis.
“Part of it will be guided by a steering committee that identifies things that are in the Alzheimer’s state plan, they’ll establish and update that, they’ll set measurable targets each year," explained Clay Jacobs, executive director for the Alzheimer's Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2023 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, there are 6.7 million people 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s in the United States, including over 280,000 in Pennsylvania. On top of that, there are an estimated 404,000 dementia family caregivers across the state, providing 646 million hours of unpaid care, valued at $10.7 billion.
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