As many of us consider ways to educate and promote Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month during the month of June, 12 Indian Health Service Alzheimer's grant recipients are finding new ways to improve the lives of those living with the challenges of Alzheimer's and dementia. These grantees are helping support the foundation of the IHS Alzheimer's Program and are pivotal in creating meaningful and lasting local change within communities.
The 2022 and 2023 Addressing Alzheimer's in Indian Country: Models of Care funding opportunities provided two years of funding through a cooperative agreement for tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to develop and begin to implement comprehensive, sustainable, and adaptable models of dementia care tailored to their unique community needs and clinical settings.
The 12 grant recipients collectively serve 60,875 adults ages 55 and older.
Below are just a few of the grantees who continue to successfully identify and test interventions, approaches, and new workflows to tackle the issues that people living with memory-related conditions and their families experience as they shape their local care models.
Indian Health Council, Inc. (IHC), a 2022 grantee, is developing a culturally appropriate standardized diagnostic approach, including hiring a cognitive wellness nurse to help lead the grant. The work of the IHC to integrate care has extended to piloting 3-minute cognitive screenings by their dental department and separately during a fall medical clinic campaign that reached nearly 80 older adults. In addition, IHC has developed standardized reports to identify high-risk patients coming in for regular visits. These reports flag patients who meet screening criteria based on age or other risk factors for dementia.
The Absentee Shawnee Tribal Health System, a 2023 grant recipient, is enhancing several caregiver-focused support services it currently offers, including the Savvy Caregiver in Indian Country and Music & Memory evidence-based programs. The Savvy Caregiver program, adapted for use in tribal communities, provides the caregiver with dementia education to help understand the stages and functional level of the person living with dementia. The Music & Memory program has proven that music can reduce anxiety, decrease agitation, and improve communication and caregiver relationships for people living with dementia.
Norton Sound Health Corporation is another 2023 grantee enhancing caregiver support, and it considers it one of its top priorities for its Alaska community. Using funding from their IHS grant, they temporarily supplemented paid caregiver wages provided by a family member who was also looking for work through their existing in-home support program. The wages helped to provide continuity of care for essential services for the elderly while working on applications to qualify for state assistance. With a caregiver working in the home with the patient, applications for permanent assistance are more likely to be completed.
These are just a few examples of grantees who work to provide services to improve the lives of those living with Alzheimer's and dementia. Read more about our grant awardees here!
- Tribes, tribal, and urban Indian organizations can apply now through July 16th for a new three-year funding opportunity to enhance clinical dementia care.
- For more information on grantees and the IHS Alzheimer's Program, visit ihs.gov/alzheimers.
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