September 11, 2023

How to Support Dementia Care with a Multidisciplinary Team

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

When it comes to dementia and memory care, people often look to pharmaceuticals for dramatic interventions. But the most impactful change we’ve seen after three decades of providing memory care services is in the care models themselves.

Research shows that primary care models that bring together multiple professions are more effective at supporting those living with dementia. Such collaborative care models can reduce symptom severity, improve quality of life, minimize the need for acute medical services, lower healthcare costs, and decrease a single caregiver’s burden. Approaches that utilize multidisciplinary care teams can be especially beneficial at a time when the dementia population is growing and the dementia care workforce is shrinking. All of these factors reinforce that expanding the care team beyond the primary care provider is the most effective way to support someone living with dementia.

At Brookdale, we take a person-centered approach that integrates multiple specialized professionals who work together inside and outside our walls to provide Alzheimer’s and dementia care. We couple our expertise with a broad spectrum of outside specialties across the continuum of care to help residents living with dementia maintain a sense of self and independence appropriate to each stage of the condition. Here’s an overview of each of those players and how all their disciplines can come together for innovative memory care.

Geriatricians

Geriatricians are the primary care experts in diagnosing and managing Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In addition to running tests and neurological exams for dementia, geriatricians review and manage medications, help patients manage chronic conditions, and assist with any behavioral or emotional needs that result from a dementia diagnosis. But the dementia care workforce is changing, and a shortage of geriatricians has led to other specialties intervening in the diagnosis and treatment of dementia. The number of geriatricians who were practicing in 2021 will have to triple by 2050 to effectively care for the 10 percent of those 65 and older who are projected to have Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 2023 report by the Alzheimer’s Association.

Primary Care Providers

Because of the increasing shortage of dementia care specialists, primary care providers (PCPs) play a critical role in diagnosing and treating dementia. Research indicates that PCPs often make the initial diagnosis of dementia and other neurocognitive disorders. A special report by the Alzheimer’s Association found that 82 percent of PCPs reported being on the front lines of providing dementia care. PCPs are uniquely positioned to help with the early detection of signs and symptoms of dementia, as they understand the medical, social, and psychological components of the disease.

Physician Assistants

Physician assistants (PAs), along with nurse practitioners, can help relieve workforce constraints when it comes to dementia care. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis indicates that there will be a shortage of specialists, including neurologists, by 2025, and PAs can help address this workforce gap. PAs may help alleviate wait times and provide better access to care for those living with dementia. This is especially true in rural areas. Since 2013, there has been a nearly 400 percent increase in the number of PAs specializing in geriatric care. Up to 46 percent of surveyed PAs who work in geriatric medicine are employed in extended care facilities or nursing homes, while 23 percent work in private practices.

Nurses

Nurses play a critical role in the care of individuals living with dementia or other neurocognitive disorders. In addition to creating care plans and helping dementia patients establish their daily routines, nurses can assess a patient’s safety and fall risk, help manage behavioral problems, and encourage hobbies and socialization. Other services that nurses can provide include medication administration, intravenous injections, and wound care. Nurses can also play an emotional and social support role for those living with dementia and their loved ones, offering active listening and empathy.

Social Workers

Social workers can help meet both the practical and emotional needs of patients living with dementia and their families. As a neutral, third-party point of contact, social workers can assist in care navigation and coordination, helping facilitate communication between physicians and a patient’s family. Social workers direct patients living with dementia to helpful resources, including memory care community recommendations, legal and financial planning, and respite or adult day programs. Finally, social workers can provide emotional support by being a listening ear, answering caregiver questions, and comforting the newly diagnosed.

Psychologists

Like PCPs, psychologists can also assess, diagnose, and treat individuals living with dementia. Psychologists use criteria to help determine the first signs of dementia versus what is a normal part of aging. They can also help discern whether memory loss is a symptom of a deeper psychological problem, such as depression. Psychologists may provide counseling, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or other psychotherapeutic interventions, to help individuals and their families cope with a dementia diagnosis. Therapy can be a critical resource for individuals living with dementia in helping them adjust to lifestyle changes, improve symptoms of depression, and enhance their sense of well-being. Psychologists can also counsel family members on how to best support those newly diagnosed during this time of transition.

Direct Care Workers

Direct care workers include personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants. These individuals make up the largest segment of the workforce that supports people living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Between 2011 and 2021, the direct care workforce population increased by 1.5 million, from 3.2 million to 4.7 million, due to a rising need for long-term care workers. Despite this growth in the workforce, it is estimated that between 2020 and 2030, an additional 1.2 million direct care workers will be needed. With one of the most diverse jobs in long-term care, direct care workers assist individuals living with dementia with food, mobility, and personal hygiene, including bathing and toileting. Depending on the state and the care worker’s licensure, their clinical tasks may include wound care, medication administration, and the measurement of vital signs. For patients still living at home, direct care workers may assist with household chores, meal preparation, and transportation.

Caregivers

Caregivers are also an important member of the multidisciplinary team. Over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. From providing transportation to doctor’s appointments to shopping for groceries to helping manage medications, caregivers’ responsibilities are as diverse as the needs of the ones they’re caring for. Caregivers provide support so that their loved ones can continue to live dignified, comfortable lives as their dementia progresses. After a while, however, it may become time for caregivers to make the mental shift from caregiving to care advocacy and consider a memory care community for their loved one.

Brookdale memory care communities, known as Clare Bridge®, provide evidence-based, specialized care for individuals living with dementia and extend the arms of their care teams by sharing their recommendations and observations with residents’ broader care teams, which often include many of the partners listed above. Providers can round in our communities by helping to provide a proactive, whole-person approach to care for those living with dementia. Associates in our Clare Bridge communities can help facilitate care coordination between our residents and their families and physicians to make for a better, more integrated care experience.

At Brookdale, we are ready to serve your patient for their dementia care needs. If you think your patient would benefit from dementia care through Brookdale, contact a representative today.

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