Alzheimer's Association of Greater Cincinnati

Madeline Gates, Summer 2018

My role at the Alzheimer's Association was to assist the Director of Clinical Outreach to increase and track the number of referrals received from physician offices. To do this, we created a spreadsheet that included the office contact information of every office that had referred patients to the Association during fiscal year 2017-2018. We categorized each office based on the number of referrals they had sent and left open spots to add in new referrals as they came. We targeted offices with the fewest number of referrals first. Our outreach consisted of a cold phone call to the office number. We usually spoke first with a receptionist and requested to speak with the office manager. If we were able to get through to him or her, we offered education about the NextSteps program as well as about a new CPT billing code for care planning for individuals with cognitive impairment. If the office manager had time, we educated them over the phone. If not, we offered to email educational materials or to come out and visit the office another time.

Making cold calls had highs and lows. There were many days where all we did was leave voicemails. Then we would get one great successful phone call where the office manager was interested and agreed to pass on the information. My favorite day all summer was traveling to an office where the office manager had invited us to do an education for the staff. When we arrived, she brought us back to the doctors' desks and we were able to speak directly to them. They were very engaged and asked great questions that we were able to answer. We even got a referral on the spot. They were very appreciative and praised us for our help and expertise. This kind of interaction was where we really felt as though we had made a difference in Alzheimer's care in Cincinnati.

Some of the other great learning moments were when we were able to interact with people with dementia and with their caregivers. These were the times when we felt the real burden of the disease. In a care consultation for a family led by a social worker from the association, we saw how family dynamics can be strained and changed. At an educational seminar given by a nurse, we saw the effects of stress on a new caregiver. Luckily we were also able to see the great work being done by the association. We saw incredible fundraising efforts, uplifting art programs, and expert counseling and resources provided by social workers.

One of the most important things I took away from this summer was a new insight into patient education and emotional support. Observing the nurses and social workers from the clinical team will affect how I speak to my own patients in the future. I also took away the importance of knowing what resources your patients can access outside of your office.