Laura Rath contributed to this post.
It has been a year now since the federal government announced its GUIDE Model to support comprehensive, coordinated care for persons living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. Consistent with Archstone Foundation’s vision of equitable, integrated care, we immediately recognized the value of this approach to better serving persons living with dementia and their caregivers.
Our commitment to promoting this nationwide voluntary model has only intensified since the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled GUIDE (the acronym is for Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience.) We are happy to report our initial efforts have been successful and it is time to consider next steps.
Given our desire to help make the rollout as successful as possible, we launched a campaign to get the word out and encourage providers across California to apply to participate. We sent eligible Medicare billing providers a mailing encouraging their interest and partnered with Dr. David B. Reuben, Archstone Foundation Chair and Professor at UCLA and Director of its Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, to share a video explaining the benefits of the program to providers.
We are thrilled to report that one in nine GUIDE participants nationwide – 45 of the 390 – is from California, more than any other state. Fourteen of the state’s providers are on the established program track, meaning they have been providing elements of the model for more than a year, while the other 31 are developing new dementia care programs and will begin offering services in July 2025.
Available Resources
The selected sites might find these three resources particularly useful:
- The National Dementia Care Collaborative aims to improve access to evidence-based comprehensive dementia care. It provides a common platform for health systems and other provider organizations that have already implemented a proven model of care or are seeking to establish a new program. The collaborative shares resources about, and partners with, these six models: the Benjamin Rose Institute Care Consultation (BRI-CC), Care Ecosystem, Aging Brain Center (HABC 3.0), Integrated Memory Care (IMC), Maximizing Independence (MIND) at Home and the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care (ADC) Program.
- The National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center of the federal Administration for Community Living provides technical assistance and resources on topics related to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Of note, the ACL and the USAging Business Institute hosted a webinar in January to discuss opportunities for their networks to engage in the GUIDE model, which you can watch here.
- A GeriPal podcast episode recorded in December discusses why the GUIDE model is important, how it was developed, its components, and how it will be evaluated. Hosts Alex Smith and Eric Widera interviewed Malaz Boustani of Indiana University and Diane Ty, the senior director of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging. You can listen here.
How Philanthropy Can Help
While the Foundation will continue to share resources and work to make sure both new and established practices get the technical support they need, philanthropic dollars may be needed to support the start-up operations of providers on the new practice track.
The GUIDE model had only one planned application period and so, if it proves successful, additional funding may be needed to spread and disseminate the model to additional providers.
When it comes to comprehensive integrated care programs like those offered by GUIDE providers, top-tier technology is needed to support collaboration and data sharing among members of interdisciplinary care teams. While the providers must have certified electronic health record platforms to participate, community-based organizations partnering with those providers may need additional support and training to upgrade their health and social service information exchange capabilities.
In other words, there is still plenty of work to be done to ensure this model is given every opportunity to succeed. And our commitment to helping that happen will remain.
