Nonprofit senior living provider Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) is set to expand its dementia care offerings to reach more older adults in part through its participation in the GUIDE model.
A handful of senior living operators, including United Church Homes, have also announced participation in the GUIDE model, which is aimed at helping older adults living with dementia stay in their homes longer and in better health.
The program, which will launch in July 2025, includes training and in-home caregiver support while also testing a new payment method for providers to improve care coordination.
The first 12 months of GUIDE participation will be focused on implementing the aspects of the program into existing LSS operations. Training will center on care navigation for staff, and the organization has selected a medical director who will coordinate training, while social workers at LSS will serve as care navigators for families.
With a backbone of home and community-based services, LSS’s participation in the GUIDE model was an easy fit for the organization, which aims to improve its dementia care and expand its services “beyond the walls of the community,” according to LSS Vice President of Home and Community-Based Services Colleen Bottens.
“It allows us to serve a variety of people, both inside and outside of our life-plan communities. So, it just felt like it was consistent or aligned with our strategic plan,” Bottens told MCB.
Participating in the GUIDE program will also aid care navigation and provide greater support to families caring for loved ones with dementia, Bottens said. GUIDE offers no-cost services for care navigation to individuals caring for those with dementia.
“Dementia care goes far beyond the walls of just the memory care unit,” Bottens said. “We come across many people who are struggling with dementia, and navigating that world is a complex task, so this is just one more way to connect with people and layer on to what we’re already doing.”
The new care coordination payment model, funded by CMS, unleashes a new revenue stream that pays providers for care management, including an assessment based on the social determinants of health.
By aiding caregivers in coordinating things like doctors’ appointments and preventing duplication of care, the care navigation component of GUIDE will improve the pace and ease at which dementia care is delivered, regardless of the setting, Bottens said.
Bottens added that an often-overlooked component of dementia care is offering respite care for caregivers who face long hours and deal with their personal lives while caring for someone with dementia.
“A break is something that they deserve, and it gives them the time to reset and take care of themselves,” Bottens said. “Having 24-hour support is an amazing thing.”
In her opinion, Bottens said she believes that the GUIDE model has “leveled the playing field” when it comes to how dementia care is executed and delivered, with the ability to reach more people.
The organization is also gearing up its back-end systems, like electronic health record systems, to prepare for the influx of data on patient assessments that come in through GUIDE. LSS also has an overnight call center established to provide caregiver support based on existing programming.
“All of these things are going on in the background right now to get us ready for July 1, 2025,” Bottens said.
