What would it take to prevent Alzheimer’s before it becomes obvious?

In this third and final episode of our series on women’s brain health and Alzheimer’s disease, Noah Volz looks at the system Southern Oregon would need to build if it took prevention seriously.

The numbers are sobering. The lifetime cost of dementia care is estimated at more than $400,000 per person, and much of that burden falls on families through unpaid caregiving and out-of-pocket costs. Oregon already has tens of thousands of people living with Alzheimer’s, and the impact will continue to grow across families, employers, Medicaid, and local healthcare systems.

But this episode is not just about the crisis. It is about what Southern Oregon could build next.

You’ll hear five concrete asks for the region:

• A dedicated Alzheimer’s prevention clinic
• Menopause-literate primary care
• Payment models that reward prevention
• Local readiness for emerging research like the CARE Initiative
• A Southern Oregon Brain Health Coalition

The core question is simple: will Southern Oregon keep waiting until cognitive decline is obvious, or will we build a system that catches risk earlier, supports women in midlife, and makes prevention practical?

This episode is for women in midlife, primary care clinicians, healthcare administrators, payers, policymakers, and anyone who cares about the future of brain health in Southern Oregon.

Subscribe at reimagine-healthcare.org for future reporting, local events, and next steps as this conversation turns into regional action.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.