Emory’s Integrated Memory Care

The Alzheimer’s Association recently reported that more than 10 percent of Georgia’s population­—or roughly 188,000 people—live with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias, and that number is slated to grow.

The report also indicates that 64 percent of the state’s 374,000 unpaid caregivers reported having at least one chronic health condition such as diabetes, and a whopping 59 percent of those caregivers reported struggling to tend to their health needs because of being “on duty 24/7.”

Last year, Georgia caregivers also worked a total of 775 million unpaid hours.

Emory’s Integrated Memory Care (IMC), the only primary care practice in the US specifically for people living with dementia and their care partners, is piloting a voluntary, alternative Medicare payment model.

A notable component of the new model, called GUIDE, is that it will cover respite for caregivers.

This collaboration between Emory IMC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Center is designed to improve quality of life, help those with Alzheimer’s or related dementias remain in their homes and decrease strain on unpaid caregivers.

Differences in this new payment model include coverage for training courses for caregivers, a 24/7 support line, and a new billing structure, which pays based on outcomes rather than services rendered.

“As a long-time participant in this space, we are pleased to partner with the Medicare Innovation Center to test the GUIDE model, anticipating that it will improve lives,” says Carolyn Clevenger, founder and director of Emory Integrated Memory Care and professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.

A joint initiative between the School of Nursing and Emory Healthcare, Emory IMC offers streamlined geriatric primary care, dementia care, and caregiver education.

The nurse-managed practice, available as an outpatient clinic at 57 Executive Park in Brookhaven and in 18 Atlanta-area senior living communities, has treated and managed more than 3,000 patients since 2015.

Medicare patients diagnosed with dementia living in most metro-Atlanta ZIP codes may enroll in the GUIDE payment model by contacting Emory Integrated Memory Care. Prescreening may also be requested by visiting nursing.emory.edu/imc.