Pediatric care leads nurse practitioner to new role helping patients with dementia
By Sean Gorman
Kate Dieringer says the years she spent working as a pediatric care nurse provided valuable training for her new role as a nurse practitioner helping dementia patients at the VCU Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center (PMDC).
“You’re really providing caregiver and family support, offering assurance,” Dieringer says. “I’m very familiar with that kind of work.”
Dieringer started working in October 2025 with Dr. James “Trey” Bateman, M.D., M.P.H., who oversees PMDC’s clinic that offers care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
The nurse practitioner job opening at the clinic caught Dieringer’s attention largely because of her own family’s experience with neurological disorders — including a grandfather who experienced a progressive neurodegenerative decline as he aged, as well as other family members who have dystonia and epilepsy.
Discussing the clinic’s mission in a job interview with Bateman is what really sold her on joining the dementia program, she says.
“He has a vision for this program,” Dieringer says. “He really wants to try some cutting-edge research techniques and infusions that can address memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients,” she says. “Those typically aren’t offered at a lot of places around here.”
Dieringer got the phone call offering her the job right as she was getting ready to travel abroad for her wedding.
“It was kind of a full circle moment, like this is where I’m supposed to be,” Dieringer says.
The dementia clinic is Dieringer’s latest role with VCU Health. After earning her nursing degree from James Madison University, she worked as a registered nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) and then as a nurse navigator with the health system. She also worked with adult patients as an emergency room nurse at VCU Medical Center.
After earning her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati, she became a nurse practitioner with KidMed Pediatric Urgent Care just outside Richmond.
Bateman says he was impressed with Dieringer’s background because it matches well with the clinic’s work.
“Kate has great experience in pediatric care coordination. There’s a ton of similarity between what is necessary to care for adults with cognitive impairment and what is necessary to care for kids with chronic illnesses as far as the wraparound services of the medical system,” Bateman says. “She knows the importance and value of care coordination and helping patients.”
Dieringer says she’s looking forward to continuing to offer that kind of care and support at the clinic for those living with dementia.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind clinic here in central Virginia, and I’m really excited about it,” she says.