When a loved one faces memory issues, it's hard to handle their care on your own.
Dr. Carolyn Clevenger and Laura Medders discuss how Emory's Integrated Memory Care Clinic can help you and your loved one address all aspects of memory care.
Integrated Memory Care Clinic
Featuring:
Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. She will see patients for primary care
in the IMCC.
Laura Medders, LCSW is a clinical social worker who will assist families with finding solutions to
care needs. She will communicate with patients and caregivers to assess
needs, coordinate care, and plan for future needs.
Carolyn Clevenger | Laura Medders, LCSW
As a nurse practitioner, Carolyn Clevenger specializes in geriatrics and gerontology andAlzheimer’s disease and related disorders. She will see patients for primary care
in the IMCC.
Laura Medders, LCSW is a clinical social worker who will assist families with finding solutions to
care needs. She will communicate with patients and caregivers to assess
needs, coordinate care, and plan for future needs.
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): The Integrated Memory Care Clinic at Emory is a nationally recognized patient centered medical home that provides primary care individualizeD for someone living with dementia. Here to talk about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic is Dr. Carolyn Clevenger, Clinical Director and Nurse Practitioner and Laura Medders, a Social Worker and Administrative Manager, both at Emory Healthcare.
Dr. Clevenger and Laura, thank you both for your time. Dr. Clevenger, let’s start with you. Is the Integrated Memory Care Clinic designed to replace a person’s current primary care provider?
Dr. Carolyn Clevenger (Guest): Yes, it is. Integrated Memory Care Clinic is considered a one-stop-shop by our families, meaning we provide both primary care as well as specialized memory care in one location by a team of experts who are comfortable providing both levels of care in a comprehensive way.
Bill: And Laura, what are the treatments and services you provide?
Laura Medders (Guest): Well, as Carolyn said, we provide primary care and neurology care in one visit, and so our patients are able to receive a condensed amount of appointments. We also like to consider ourselves primary care plus, so we have an after hours line for our patients and their family members when concerns come up on nights and weekends. Our nurse practitioners can address those concerns. As the social worker for the clinic, I do a lot of caregiver coaching with our patients’ family members, and I also offer a number of classes and workshops that help educate our patients and families about the disease process and how to provide care for behavioral symptoms as well as other symptoms related to living with dementia.
Bill: Dr. Clevenger, do you work then with the patient and family to develop individualized treatment recommendations?
Dr. Clevenger: Absolutely. One of the benefits of having a group of experts in the dementia syndrome is that families who are very familiar with their condition — or their loved-ones’ condition — don’t have to explain it to the care team. Families who have not had the benefit of accessing dementia care experts in the past now have access to someone who can talk with them about what is happening now, what is most likely causing it, and what they can expect. Knowing the disease trajectory, our team works with those families to talk about what to expect in the months to years going forward and then we create a plan to support them as they’re going through the dementia journey.
The plan incorporates medical treatments; it incorporates care that they may access in the community, and care they may require in their home. All of that, of course, is in line with what their goals are and what’s most important to them. There are some common ingredients in those plans, but they are individualized to that person and to their support team around them, many times family and friends.
Bill: Laura, let me switch to you then. Compared to someone with their primary care provider, what are the top benefits then of specialized primary care for people with memory loss?
Laura: I think Carolyn brought up a really good point. Having providers who are familiar with the disease trajectory of dementia can be a really powerful experience for our patients and their family members. When we can help the families anticipate the symptoms that are likely to occur and help normalize the symptoms that they may be experiencing, it really helps reduce a lot of the caregiver stress and caregiver burden that they may be feeling. And certainly, we are providing palliative care through the Integrative Memory Care Clinic model, so we’re focusing on the patients’ quality of life. There is nothing we can do to reverse the course of this disease, but we certainly can do a lot to improve the quality of life while the person is living with the disease.
Bill: Absolutely. You were speaking of specialized care before, so Dr. Clevenger, can you talk about the multidisciplinary team of experts at the Integrative Memory Care Clinic?
Dr. Clevenger: Of course. We are really fortunate to have put together what we feel like is the best expertise possible given the population that we are trying to support here. The providers at clinic are nurse practitioners who are board-certified in either Geriatrics as a specialty and/or Hospice and Palliative Care because of that palliative approach that we provide. We are also very fortunate to have a Registered Nurse, and of course, Laura as our Social Worker to help coordinate care and who makes sure families have access to clinical advice during the business hours and who can also provide that patient education and sometimes families meetings and emotional support, as well.
We are embedded within the Brain Health Center, and specifically, embedded in Cognitive Neurology. Our patients may not have appointments with Cognitive Neurologists, but our Nurse Practitioners and our clinical team have access to those specialists for additional questions and consultations, particularly around diagnosis, if there remains a question.
One of the most valuable parts of our team according to many families is that we have a patient care coordinator who answers our phone directly. Patients who are scheduling an appointment with our clinic call an individual who is dedicated to our clinic and who can explain our services and understands again, that the person they’re speaking with is either supporting someone living with dementia or who may themselves have a cognitive impairment. That’s been a real value added to many families.
Bill: It sounds like there’s a lot of value to the Integrated Memory Care Clinic. For someone listening who wants more information, Laura, what should they do? Where can they find out more information?
Laura: Sure. There is more information about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic on our website, which can be accessed by going to EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC. Again, that’s EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC. Or, if they’re local and living in Atlanta and would like to get more information and determine if the person may be eligible for care within the Integrated Memory Care Clinic, they can reach our patient care coordinator at 404-712-6929.
Bill: Excellent. And Dr. Clevenger, in 2016, the Integrated Memory Care Clinic earned patient-centered home level three recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Can you tell us what that means?
Dr. Clevenger: The patient-centered medical home is a recognition program for primary care practices that do primary care the way people typically hope from primary cares. Technically, it’s an advanced primary care model, meaning that the care that a practice provides in order to get that level of recognition, the care must be comprehensive, so it encompasses physical well-being, the emotional well-being, the social aspects as well. They take that into account to then plan care in partnership with patients and in our case also families, to design a plan that is acceptable to both the practice, has a high functioning team of clinicians who share goals, and are cautious to not just provide care through appointments during the day but actually look at our performance with measures that line up against how other primary care practices are performing.
When we measure our performance we also identify areas where we always are improving and striving to do even better than we are already performing. We happen to have really excellent performance measures in our ability to manage the typical chronic illness of primary care like diabetes and high blood pressure. We do a great job making sure our patients have the appropriate preventative care, and we have one of the highest patient experience scores of any clinic in the system. The National Committee for Quality Assurance creates this recognition program to then recognize a practice that performs at this high level like ours.
Bill: Well, that recognition has got to be very comforting for the family. And Laura, if you could wrap it up for us, what else should we know about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic?
Laura: I think one of the major benefits for people coming to the Integrated Memory Care Clinic is that we aren’t just treating the patient with the diagnosis, we’re treating the whole family and really joining in to provide the support that they need to provide the long-term support for the patient. We believe that taking care of the family is our best way to take good care of the patient. We are providing more than a traditional primary care practice would in many cases.
Bill: Great information, and Dr. Clevenger and Laura, thank you so much for your time and talking to us about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic. For more information, please visit EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC, that EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC, or you can call 404-712-6929. You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thank for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): The Integrated Memory Care Clinic at Emory is a nationally recognized patient centered medical home that provides primary care individualizeD for someone living with dementia. Here to talk about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic is Dr. Carolyn Clevenger, Clinical Director and Nurse Practitioner and Laura Medders, a Social Worker and Administrative Manager, both at Emory Healthcare.
Dr. Clevenger and Laura, thank you both for your time. Dr. Clevenger, let’s start with you. Is the Integrated Memory Care Clinic designed to replace a person’s current primary care provider?
Dr. Carolyn Clevenger (Guest): Yes, it is. Integrated Memory Care Clinic is considered a one-stop-shop by our families, meaning we provide both primary care as well as specialized memory care in one location by a team of experts who are comfortable providing both levels of care in a comprehensive way.
Bill: And Laura, what are the treatments and services you provide?
Laura Medders (Guest): Well, as Carolyn said, we provide primary care and neurology care in one visit, and so our patients are able to receive a condensed amount of appointments. We also like to consider ourselves primary care plus, so we have an after hours line for our patients and their family members when concerns come up on nights and weekends. Our nurse practitioners can address those concerns. As the social worker for the clinic, I do a lot of caregiver coaching with our patients’ family members, and I also offer a number of classes and workshops that help educate our patients and families about the disease process and how to provide care for behavioral symptoms as well as other symptoms related to living with dementia.
Bill: Dr. Clevenger, do you work then with the patient and family to develop individualized treatment recommendations?
Dr. Clevenger: Absolutely. One of the benefits of having a group of experts in the dementia syndrome is that families who are very familiar with their condition — or their loved-ones’ condition — don’t have to explain it to the care team. Families who have not had the benefit of accessing dementia care experts in the past now have access to someone who can talk with them about what is happening now, what is most likely causing it, and what they can expect. Knowing the disease trajectory, our team works with those families to talk about what to expect in the months to years going forward and then we create a plan to support them as they’re going through the dementia journey.
The plan incorporates medical treatments; it incorporates care that they may access in the community, and care they may require in their home. All of that, of course, is in line with what their goals are and what’s most important to them. There are some common ingredients in those plans, but they are individualized to that person and to their support team around them, many times family and friends.
Bill: Laura, let me switch to you then. Compared to someone with their primary care provider, what are the top benefits then of specialized primary care for people with memory loss?
Laura: I think Carolyn brought up a really good point. Having providers who are familiar with the disease trajectory of dementia can be a really powerful experience for our patients and their family members. When we can help the families anticipate the symptoms that are likely to occur and help normalize the symptoms that they may be experiencing, it really helps reduce a lot of the caregiver stress and caregiver burden that they may be feeling. And certainly, we are providing palliative care through the Integrative Memory Care Clinic model, so we’re focusing on the patients’ quality of life. There is nothing we can do to reverse the course of this disease, but we certainly can do a lot to improve the quality of life while the person is living with the disease.
Bill: Absolutely. You were speaking of specialized care before, so Dr. Clevenger, can you talk about the multidisciplinary team of experts at the Integrative Memory Care Clinic?
Dr. Clevenger: Of course. We are really fortunate to have put together what we feel like is the best expertise possible given the population that we are trying to support here. The providers at clinic are nurse practitioners who are board-certified in either Geriatrics as a specialty and/or Hospice and Palliative Care because of that palliative approach that we provide. We are also very fortunate to have a Registered Nurse, and of course, Laura as our Social Worker to help coordinate care and who makes sure families have access to clinical advice during the business hours and who can also provide that patient education and sometimes families meetings and emotional support, as well.
We are embedded within the Brain Health Center, and specifically, embedded in Cognitive Neurology. Our patients may not have appointments with Cognitive Neurologists, but our Nurse Practitioners and our clinical team have access to those specialists for additional questions and consultations, particularly around diagnosis, if there remains a question.
One of the most valuable parts of our team according to many families is that we have a patient care coordinator who answers our phone directly. Patients who are scheduling an appointment with our clinic call an individual who is dedicated to our clinic and who can explain our services and understands again, that the person they’re speaking with is either supporting someone living with dementia or who may themselves have a cognitive impairment. That’s been a real value added to many families.
Bill: It sounds like there’s a lot of value to the Integrated Memory Care Clinic. For someone listening who wants more information, Laura, what should they do? Where can they find out more information?
Laura: Sure. There is more information about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic on our website, which can be accessed by going to EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC. Again, that’s EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC. Or, if they’re local and living in Atlanta and would like to get more information and determine if the person may be eligible for care within the Integrated Memory Care Clinic, they can reach our patient care coordinator at 404-712-6929.
Bill: Excellent. And Dr. Clevenger, in 2016, the Integrated Memory Care Clinic earned patient-centered home level three recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Can you tell us what that means?
Dr. Clevenger: The patient-centered medical home is a recognition program for primary care practices that do primary care the way people typically hope from primary cares. Technically, it’s an advanced primary care model, meaning that the care that a practice provides in order to get that level of recognition, the care must be comprehensive, so it encompasses physical well-being, the emotional well-being, the social aspects as well. They take that into account to then plan care in partnership with patients and in our case also families, to design a plan that is acceptable to both the practice, has a high functioning team of clinicians who share goals, and are cautious to not just provide care through appointments during the day but actually look at our performance with measures that line up against how other primary care practices are performing.
When we measure our performance we also identify areas where we always are improving and striving to do even better than we are already performing. We happen to have really excellent performance measures in our ability to manage the typical chronic illness of primary care like diabetes and high blood pressure. We do a great job making sure our patients have the appropriate preventative care, and we have one of the highest patient experience scores of any clinic in the system. The National Committee for Quality Assurance creates this recognition program to then recognize a practice that performs at this high level like ours.
Bill: Well, that recognition has got to be very comforting for the family. And Laura, if you could wrap it up for us, what else should we know about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic?
Laura: I think one of the major benefits for people coming to the Integrated Memory Care Clinic is that we aren’t just treating the patient with the diagnosis, we’re treating the whole family and really joining in to provide the support that they need to provide the long-term support for the patient. We believe that taking care of the family is our best way to take good care of the patient. We are providing more than a traditional primary care practice would in many cases.
Bill: Great information, and Dr. Clevenger and Laura, thank you so much for your time and talking to us about the Integrated Memory Care Clinic. For more information, please visit EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC, that EmoryHealthcare.org/IMCC, or you can call 404-712-6929. You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thank for listening.