Drs. Chodos and Rivera Awarded $23 million by CA State DHCS for Dementia Aware!

Congratulations Dr. Anna Chodos (PI) and Dr. Josette Rivera (Co-PI) on receiving a $23 million award from the California State Department of Health Care Services for Dementia Aware!  Dementia Aware is a statewide, multi-site program that aims to improve the lives of people living with dementia and the people who support them. Working together with multiple faculty across UCSF (including the Global Brain Health Institute, the Division of General Internal Medicine at ZSFG, and the Institute for Health Policy Studies), and subsites (including UC Hastings College of the Law, Alzheimer's Association, UCLA, UC Irvine, UCSD, and Rancho Research Institute), the goals of Dementia Aware are to increase dementia detection among Medi-Cal recipients 65 and older and ensure that patients living with dementia have stage-appropriate care plans. UCSF and its partners will create a Cognitive Health Assessment (CHA) with evidence-based assessment tools, a training for Medi-Cal providers on team-based use of the CHA, a toolkit for care planning once dementia is diagnosed, and practice support coaching to learn how to implement the CHA and toolkit effectively. This is an exciting, massive and impactful program and the Dementia Aware team is already well underway in recruiting program staff.  Congratulations on this impressive award!