Maryland's Dementia-Capable CHW Project - The Maryland Dementia-Capable Community Health Worker (CHW) project aims to enhance the Area Agency on Aging’s (AAAs) workforce capacity to increase and enhance access to person-centered dementia services for Family Caregivers and Persons Living With Dementia (PLWD). The project will be led by the MAC Inc. Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE) in partnership with Central Maryland Area Health Education Center (CMAHEC), the regional Health Information Exchange (CRISP) and the Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Objectives include: 1) Establish a cadre of three county-based CHWs with specialized dementia, community-based service navigation, evidence-based intervention, and aging network training; 2) Provide early detection and engagement in dementia care for 700 Caregiver/PLWD dyads by leveraging a robust “closed loop” clinical-community network of resources and referrals and Medicare dementia GUIDE model navigation; and 3) Evaluate the impact of project interventions on PLWD, caregivers, and CHWs to facilitate the sustainability and scalability of best practices. Outcomes include: 1) Increased availability and delivery of caregiver support services; 2) Reduced caregiver burden, depression, and social disconnection; 3) Reduced risk for emergency room visits and hospitalization for PLWD; and 4) Establish a national model for demonstrating Return on Investment (ROI) for embedding CHW services within AAAs. Products include: 1) Replicable, state-certified and dementia-capable Continuing Education Programs for CHWs; and 2) An implementation toolkit sharing best practice policies, procedures, and workflows along with project results and lessons learned. An independent evaluation will be conducted by a nationally-renowned program implementation researcher and certified CHW Instructor.
