Our Story
In 2016, we embarked on a project to improve the lives of those impacted by dementia throughout the state of Wisconsin. We set the following goals: to help people with dementia live at home as long as possible, to reduce the use of unplanned emergency medical services, and to reduce caregiver stress and burden. To achieve these goals, we sought and received funding from the U.S. Administration for Community Living for our project, “Dementia Capable Wisconsin: Creating New Partnerships in Dementia Care.” We partnered with various community agencies to create innovative programs designed to help meet the needs of individuals with dementia and their caregivers.
Training Home Health Clinicians to Support Caregivers
To help caregivers learn more about the medical complications of dementia, WAI partnered with UW Health Care Direct (formerly Chartwell Midwest Wisconsin Home Health Care and UW Home Health, Madison, WI) and Heartland Home Health Care & Hospice (Milwaukee, WI) to train clinicians on educating dementia caregivers on ways to prevent, identify and manage complex conditions in their loved ones. For more information and for home health clinicians interested in the training guides: Click Here
Screening for Dementia in Persons With an Intellectual Disability
People with intellectual disability (ID), particularly Down syndrome, are at much higher risk of developing dementia. The National Task Group-Early Detection Screen for Dementia (NTG-EDSD) tool was developed to help ID professionals recognize and assess cognitive decline in people with ID. We developed and implemented training for ID professionals to increase their understanding and use of the NTG-EDSD. For more information about this training and a guide for ID organizations interested in implementing the training: Click Here
Training Dementia Care Professionals to Help Caregivers Address Behaviors in Dementia
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common in people with dementia and often misunderstood and challenging to manage for their caregivers. WAI addressed this by partnering with dementia care professionals throughout the state to deliver the DICE Approach™ to dementia caregivers. To learn more about the delivery of this project through the Wisconsin’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) and online training information: Click Here
Supporting Elders With Dementia Who Are Living Alone
WAI has partnered with Fitch-Rona and Deer-Grove Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to create a “visitor” program. Emergency medical technicians learned the skills necessary to help address the needs, safety and well-being of elders. For more information: Click Here
Our Team
The WAI Dementia Capable Wisconsin grant team includes:
- Art Walaszek, MD, Public Health Pillar Leader, Principal Investigator
- Molly Schroeder, CSW, Community Dementia Programs Manager
- Tammi Albrecht, DNP, Nursing Consultant
- Tamara LeCaire, PhD, Associate Scientist
- Noelia Sayavedra, Assistant Research Scientist
- Sydney Russmann, Research Specialist
For more information about this grant and its programs, please email our team.
Thank you to our partners:
Dementia Capable Wisconsin was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Grant #90ALGG0004-01-00.
Our deepest appreciation to our community partners: UW Health Care Direct (formerly Chartwell Midwest Wisconsin Home Health Care and UW Home Health), Heartland Home Health Care & Hospice, Aptiv, Inc., Gundersen Health System, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and their dementia care specialists, Fitch-Rona EMS, Deer-Grove EMS, and the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Wisconsin.