Acadia Hospital Corp

Community Project Funding/congressionally Directed Spending - Non-construction - an Aging and Rural State, Maine Has an Older Population and a High Prevalence of Age-associated Cognitive Disorders, as Well as Little Access to Dementia Specialists. Wait Times of 18 Months to See a Dementia Specialist Are Not Unusual. Besides the Wait, Long Travel Distances to See Specialists Is Another Obstacle to Care. the Objectives of the Program Are Based on Three Recognized Needs: the Need for Equitable Access to High-quality Care Regardless of Setting; the Need for Improved Coordinated, Interdisciplinary, and Interinstitutional Collaboration; and the Need for the Integration of Evidence-based Dementia Care and Clinical Research. to Address the Problem, Northern Light Acadia Hospitals Rural Dementia Care Training Project Is Designed to Increase Access to Dementia Specialists and Reduce Dependence on Specialty Clinics by Increasing the Capabilities of Non-specialists. the Program Will Develop Training Materials for Acute and Chronic Care Settings, Develop a State-wide Clinical Consortium of Dementia Specialists to Triage Cases, Create a Registry for Persons With Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (adrd), and Train Two Subspecialists in Geriatric Neuropsychiatry. All of These Objectives Have Been Identified as High Priority Goals by Stakeholders in the Recently Revised Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (MECDC) Maine State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease. the Project Will Establish a Program That Will Improve Access to Specialists and Improve Assessment and Care of Dementia in Primary and Community Care Systems. Outreach Will Be Extended to Engage Underrepresented Communities in Training and Healthy Brain Aging Lifestyle. the Project, Designed to Lead a Dementia Training Program for Outpatient and Hospital-based Providers in Predominantly Rural Counties, Has the Capacity to Reach Over 700 Healthcare Professionals in These Regions to Enhance Dementia Care Competencies and Resources, and Subsequently Increasing Patient Access and Improving Health Equity. Invitation Will Be Shared With Providers Across the Northern Light Health System, and Beyond, to Participate in Project Initiatives. the Program Will Provide Enduring Educational Resources for Primary Care and Other Providers for On-going Reference. These Resources Will Include a Multi-layered Webpage With Assessment Tools, Care Pathway Algorithms Embedded in the Electronic Medical Record, Instructional Videos for On-going Learning, Options to Communicate With the Dementia Specialty Care Team and Lists of Community Resources. Hands-on Caregivers in Hospital, Post-acute and Long-term Care Settings Will Also Benefit. for a Lasting State-wide Impact, the Project Will Operationalize Infrastructure to Promote Collaboration Among Key Clinical and Scientific Groups to Leverage Existing Talent, and Critically, Also Attract New, Early Career Clinicians and Scientists. Supporting the Long-term Impact of This Initiative, Two Early-career Nurse Practitioners Will Be Trained and Develop Dementia-specialty Skills. the Project Will Create an Accredited Geriatric Neuropsychiatry Fellowship for Physicians.