Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model aims to increase care coordination, support for caregivers

(WILMINGTON, Del. – September 10, 2024)

ChristianaCare’s Swank Center for Memory Care has been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in a new Medicare alternative payment model designed to support people living with dementia and those who care for them.

Delaware is a popular state for retirees, and its aging population is expected to grow. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 22,000 people in Delaware who are 65 or older are living with Alzheimer’s, about 11% of the state’s senior population. In addition, some 31,000 people in Delaware are family caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s.

Under CMS’ Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, the Swank Center for Memory Care is one of a limited number of programs nationwide selected by CMS and will work to increase care coordination and improve access to services and supports, including respite care, for people living with dementia and their caregivers.

The Swank Center for Memory Care will launch GUIDE in July 2025. It will provide key support services for those enrolled in the program, including:

• Comprehensive, person-centered assessments and care plans.
• Care coordination.
• Access to a 24/7 GUIDE team support line and respite services.
• Education and training for program participants.

With locations in Wilmington, Smyrna and Rehoboth, the Swank Memory Care Center will offer the GUIDE program to patients and caregivers throughout Delaware and the surrounding region.

“As a leader in treating people with memory care disorders, our team of clinicians is honored to have been chosen by CMS to participate in the groundbreaking GUIDE program,” said Steven Huege, M.D., MSEd, The Swank Foundation Endowed Chair in Memory Care and Geriatrics at ChristianaCare. “By participating in this model, we aim to enhance the quality of life for individuals living with dementia and provide those who care for them with the essential resources and respite they need. This opportunity allows us to further our commitment to transform health care delivery and ensure that high-quality, compassionate care is accessible to all.”

Under the program, people with dementia and their caregivers will have the assistance and support of a care navigator to help them access clinical and non-clinical services such as meals and transportation through community-based organizations.

Program participants will also have access to education and support, such as training programs on best practices for caring for a loved one living with dementia. The GUIDE Model will provide respite services, enabling caregivers to take temporary breaks from their caregiving responsibilities. Respite is being tested under the GUIDE Model to assess its effect on helping caregivers continue to care for their loved ones at home, preventing or delaying the need for facility care.

“CMS is excited to partner with ChristianaCare’s Swank Center for Memory Care under the GUIDE Model,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “GUIDE is a new approach to how Medicare will pay for the care of people living with dementia. The GUIDE participants are envisioning new ways to support not only people living with dementia, but also to reduce strain on the people who care for them, so that more Americans can remain in their homes and communities, rather than in institutions.”

For more information on CMS’ GUIDE Model, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/guide.

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About ChristianaCare

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.

ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as the 2nd best health system for diversity and inclusion, and the 29th best health system to work for in the United States, and by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is rated by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals and continually ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and other national quality ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

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