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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Program

Pilots and Initiatives

The IHS Alzheimer's Program is developing, piloting, and evaluating various initiatives and activities to support the Indian health system and workforce in their efforts to enhance the quality of dementia care and services at the local level. These efforts mainly support two goals identified during tribal consultation and urban conferral, including:

  • Funding that provides resources directly to Tribes, Tribal organizations, Urban Indian Organizations, and IHS direct service hospitals and clinics.
  • Education, training, and workforce development to help I/T/U health programs improve staff competency, capacity, and effectiveness.

Indian Health Geriatric Scholars (GeriScholars)

The GeriScholars pilot was developed with the support and collaboration of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Rural Health and utilizes the highly successful VA Geriatric Scholars Program model that has built geriatric expertise into the primary care workforce over the past decade.

Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA)

Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) in IHS and Tribal emergency departments signals our commitment to excellence and elevating the quality of care for our community elders. GEDA accreditation incorporates the 4Ms Framework of Age-Friendly Health Systems, which includes: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.

Indian Health Geriatric Nurse Fellowship Program

The aim of the Geriatric Nurse Fellowship Program pilot cohort is to empower the I/T/U nursing workforce with the knowledge and skills to serve as local leaders and champions of holistic, evidence-based, integrated care for aging tribal populations. The pilot offers participating nurses a 7–month professional development program combining virtual classroom and real-world experience in collaboration with experienced mentors.