While a diagnosis of dementia can be devastating to an individual, the overwhelming loss, responsibility and decisions involved in a person’s care can be equally devastating to their caregiver.
A $1.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging will help researchers at HealthPartners Institute’s Neuroscience Research Center continue to assess the effectiveness of a promising model for dementia care: Care Ecosystem.
The model, developed at the University of California-San Francisco, is a telephone- and web-based approach that uses care team navigators to help patients with dementia and their caregivers take charge of their care and connect with community resources like caregiver support groups, food delivery services and financial assistance programs.
HealthPartners has been running a Care Ecosystem program, with support from a Merck Foundation grant, since 2018, explained Michael Rosenbloom MD, director of HealthPartners Center for Memory and Aging. The new grant will fund further research into the approach’s effectiveness.