39. Is the Medicare GUIDE Program for you?: Three Essential Tips / Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias

Is the Medicare GUIDE Program for you? Today Nancy and I are sharing insights from Amy Imes of Emory's Integrated Memory Care about the new Medicare Program GUIDE. We're going to help you understand what it is and how to know if you can leverage it. We're sharing three tips.
We are Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster. As caregivers for our loved ones with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, we are so excited to share this information with you. This is an awesome opportunity to learn about the US Medicare GUIDE Program. With big announcements happening on July 1, 2025, we're excited to give you an overview so you can understand how you might participate in the GUIDE program.
Let us introduce you to Amy. Amy Imes is a gerontological nurse practitioner who is a trusted expert in geriatrics, demonstrating a deep understanding of the unique healthcare needs of the aging population. Throughout her career, Amy has played a pivotal role in building care models—that's important to the GUIDE program—and developing teams that yield superior outcomes. In addition to her clinical work, she is a member of the team at Emory's Integrated Memory Care, which is a nurse practitioner-led primary care practice for patients living with dementia. She's also the program lead for the Medicare GUIDE Program at Emory Healthcare.
GUIDE stands for Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience. It is a US Medicare pilot program that aims to provide better support and resources for persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Which is awesome.
You should know that it's a pilot program. Please let's all support it because we need to prove that this pilot program which focuses on helping dementia caregivers actually works so that this can become a standard part of Medicare and can also be expanded globally. It would be ideal for the US to prove it's worth so that we can help other countries take advantage of these kinds of support because they're watching and they're aware of it.
This is a groundbreaking program that is being offered around the country. So definitely we want to show up and show out as people tend to say sometimes. As of today, July 1st, there are approximately 390 programs across the country that have been vetted by Medicare to provide this program, and so it is really going to have an impact for persons living with dementia.

Full Show Notes
https://thecaregiversjourney.org/39-i...

Additional Resources Mentioned
To find a guide program near you: Go to this CMS website page and put in your state and under models select ‘Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model’
Then click ‘Display selected’
You can use the plus and minus signs in the upper right corner to zoom in closer to your area and find the program closest to you.
There may be several who cover your zip code so explore options
Emory Integrated Memory Care: https://www.emoryhealthcare.org/cente...
Support the nonprofit The Caregiver's Journey: https://give.cornerstone.cc/thecaregi...

Takeaways
What the Medicare GUIDE Program Offers
One-on-one support and coaching by dementia prevention providers
Care navigation through an often difficult and chaotic healthcare system
Education and training resources for caregivers
Respite care

Tip 1: Understand Your Eligibility
Basic eligibility requirements:
Must have Medicare Parts A and B
Medicare Advantage not eligible: this may change down the road
Cannot be in hospice:
Cannot live in skilled nursing: but assisted living is okay

Tip 2: How to Find a GUIDE Program Near Me
There are approximately 390 programs across the country, and they're nicely scattered to ensure good coverage. Google "Medicare plus GUIDE plus dementia" and it pops up pretty easily

Tip 3: How to Integrate GUIDE with Your Existing Medical Team
Key questions to ask potential GUIDE programs:
How will you coordinate with my existing specialists and medical team?
What's expected from me? (frequency of contact, office visits vs. telehealth vs. phone calls)
What classes are available and how are they offered? (in person vs. Zoom vs. self-directed)
What support groups do you offer?

About Emory's Integrated Memory Care GUIDE Program
For those in the Atlanta area, Emory's Integrated Memory Care is led by nurse practitioners who are all dementia specialists and geriatric specialists. They bring everything under one umbrella with geriatric psych, licensed social workers, and RNs on their team. This eliminates doctor hopping and multiple visits.
The clinic is located at North Druid Hills and Briarcliff in Executive Park, and they also have a community arm where nurse practitioners make house calls to various senior living communities around the large metro area.

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