Here is today’s Monday Mailer for you:

USAging Conference “VDC Get-Together” 

Last month at the USAging Answers on Aging Conference, Roger Auerbach organized and facilitated a “VDC Get-Together” with 12 VDC providers from across the country. Participants discussed shared challenges, successes, and opportunities to strengthen the VDC program. Providers shared practical feedback about how greater consistency, communication, and education could better support day-to-day implementation across VAMCs and provider organizations. Our team valued hearing directly from providers about the real experience of delivering VDC and the opportunities to continue improving the program for Veterans.

Key themes and considerations identified during the discussion included:

• Promote common, consistent language across VDC programs, especially for VDC providers supporting multiple VAMCs, to help strengthen adherence to policy and guidelines related to spending plans, services, and program requirements.
• Improve standardization of core processes across VDC programs, including the use of electronic versus paper documentation, standardized timesheets, monthly service reports, and review processes for goods and services.
• Explore opportunities for smaller or regional meetings to support more targeted peer discussion and problem solving.
• Identify strategies to help VDC programs increase referrals, including Veteran and community education through VFWs, VSOs, community hubs, and other appropriate outreach channels.
• Visibly demonstrate how VDC impacts Veterans’ lives and supports cost savings, helping providers, VA partners, and other stakeholders better understand the value of the program.

ACL and VHA will take additional feedback on challenges and proposed solutions into account for changes to future products, processes, and guidance. Thank you to those who attended!

Impact of Collaborative Care on Alzheimer’s

This research article, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging under a National Institute on Aging grant, modelled how collaborative dementia care can offer health and economic benefits. The study estimated the costs, health benefits, and scalability of three clinical pathways: an antibody administered biweekly, collaborative dementia care with care navigation, and a combined pathway with concurrent intervention approaches. When scaled to eligible populations, the health gains of collaborative dementia care exceeded those of the antibody, while reducing net costs, indicating collaborative dementia care offers substantial health and economic benefits. Read the article here.

NADRC Webinar 

The National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center (NADRC) is hosting “Caring with Confidence: Building Resilience for Dementia Caregivers,” a webinar during which Oakwood Creative Care will highlight how its Alzheimer's Disease Programs Initiative grant from ACL is expanding innovative caregiver support services that foster resilience, emotional well-being, and meaningful connections. Through real-world examples and case studies, attendees will explore how resilience-based approaches can empower caregivers, strengthen family relationships, enhance well-being, and help families navigate the dementia journey with greater confidence and support. The webinar will be held on September 16, from 2:00-3:00pm ET. Register for the webinar here.

Use this link to share the Monday Mailer with your peers: https://www.ta-community.com/category/monday-mailer-archive.

If you would like to receive the Monday Mailer, subscribe here: https://www.ta-community.com/t/h7yzr7z/add-me-to-the-monday-mailer-distribution-list.

We hope you find these resources helpful! See you next Monday!