How a landmark UCLA dementia program could ease burdens in Rochester communities of color

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) centers provide government-funded medical care and social services to those aged 55 and above who qualify for nursing home care but can still live independently with some assistance. There are currently more than 160 PACE centers in 32 states. PACE centers are also gaining momentum as a nursing home alternative, as several states have begun passing legislation and making policy changes to allow Medicaid to cover PACE care.

The Castle Center provides adults with dementia in need of assistance care during the day. Open five days a week, the center offers participants meals, medication monitoring, personal care assistance with the help of nurses and volunteers, socialization and activities like arts and crafts. The Center also offers time off for caregivers — like family members — who often care for people with dementia 24/7.

The James L. West Center for Dementia Care’s Senior Day Program offers engaging activities like dance, music therapy and cooking classes, and a sense of community for people with dementia, while giving family caregivers a break. The Center currently cares for about 13 people each day, though it has the capacity for up to 20 people and is slated to expand to help more people.

PACE — Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — provides free, necessary care to seniors, as well as resources like medicines and other accommodations. PACE also provides a health clinic, urgent care center, home services and offers respite to caregivers in need of a break. Nationwide, there are 273 PACE programs in 32 states. Michigan alone has seven, with two more to be added within the next year or so.

Custom, designer prosthetics that serve purposes in both function and fashion are beginning to reform the prosthetics industry, allowing people to express themselves and embrace their bodies in new ways. Researchers, developers, and larger businesses are constantly innovating to create new prosthetics that can meet a person’s every need and other companies are working to make prosthetic covers more accessible so anyone can afford the option to personalize their look.

The Village Landais is part of a movement to make memory-care units less like hospitals and more like small neighborhoods. The Village is currently home to 108 people and strives to provide those with alzheimers a place to live that still allows them to maintain a sense of autonomy and choice to help enrich their lives.

Black American mothers are about 3.5 times more likely to die from complications related to childbirth than white American mothers. A program called Pregnancy Medical Home in North Carolina has contributed to successfully eliminating this disparity by targeting low-income mothers and focusing on risk factors that contribute to poor maternal outcomes. The program is funded by Medicaid and mothers who are identified as being high risk are paired with a care manager who helps them to achieve the health plans set forth by their doctors.

Hospitals in New York improve healthcare quality and reduce medical costs by staying in frequent contact with patients requiring frequent or long-term care. Montefiore's Accountable Care Organization pulls in care providers from across the medical and social spectrum to improve patient health while curbing expenses.

More than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s or similar illnesses, and that number is growing as the population ages - without any immediate prospect of a cure, advocacy groups have begun promoting ways to offer people with dementia a comfortable decline instead of imposing on them a medical model of care, which seeks to defer death through escalating interventions. An Arizona nursing home offers new ways to care for people with dementia.

Worker-owned home-care cooperatives are emerging as an alternative to the for-profit agencies that dominate America's direct-care sector. In these cooperatives, professional caregivers earn an average of $2 more per hour than the industry standard, share in business decision-making, and stay on the job at nearly double the rate of workers at traditional agencies. Patients also stay with co-op agencies twice as long, suggesting higher satisfaction and quality of care.