MaineHealth receives $957K grant for Alzheimer’s disease partnership
MaineHealth, the state’s largest integrated health care system, has been awarded $957,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living to strengthen training and services for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their caregivers.
The three-year grant is one of just 11 awarded nationally by DHHS's Administration for Community Living.
Why this matters
One in 10 people nationwide is afflicted with Alzheimer’s. In Maine — the oldest and most rural state in the nation — the number of individuals living with the disease and related dementias will rise to over 53,000 by 2020 as the first wave of Maine’s baby boomers reaches the age of greatest risk.
An estimated 230,000 Maine caregivers are providing critical support for aging and disabled family members, including those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Many caregivers are themselves aging and employed full time. Maine’s long-term care system is also feeling the impact, with an estimated 80% of nursing home residents having dementia or impaired decision-making.
What the grant will fund
The MaineHealth Alzheimer’s Disease Partnership will address these challenges by more closely integrating primary care providers and community services programs serving ADRD across two regions — rural Lincoln County and Greater Portland. Primary care teams in the MaineHealth system will receive training to more easily identify patients and caregivers in need of supportive services.
The project will also enhance referral protocols and expand the existing system of dementia care services offered by its partners.
“Building on the strong system and community partnerships and great work related to dementia already occurring in Maine, this grant expands the reach of the critical work identifying those individuals with dementia and improving their access to assistance,” said Dr. Heidi Wierman, medical director for healthy Aging for the MaineHealth system and division director for geriatrics at Maine Medical Center. “As important, it focuses on support for caregivers in our communities who often juggle children, work and their own health issues in addition to having a loved one or friend with dementia.”
Building on existing partnerships
The project builds on a successful 20-year partnership with the Southern Maine Area Agency on Aging. MaineHealth’s system and partner agencies also include Maine Medical Center Geriatrics Center; MMC Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation; MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization; Maine Behavioral Healthcare; Miles and St. Andrews Home Health and Hospice of LincolnHealth; Alzheimer’s Association of Maine; Community Paramedicine; Spectrum Generations Central Area Agency on Aging; and the University of Southern Maine.
“This award helps us build upon the strong foundation of the expiring ACL grant targeted at York County, and enables us to expand the reach of critical training and dementia care services into Greater Portland and Lincoln County, where the need is significant and growing,” Wierman said in a news release.
MaineHealth is a nationally recognized provider of healthcare training services. Its Partnership for Healthy Aging is the national administrator for A Matter of Balance, a top-tier evidence-based falls prevention program.
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