Richmond Brain Health Initiative expanding partnerships, reaching out to minorities
By Sean Gorman
An estimated 300,000 Virginians over the age of 45 believe they are experiencing cognitive decline, and 150,000 people aged 65 and older are estimated to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
These statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association highlight a large need for cognitive care in our state, but also a big opportunity to improve the quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, many of whom don’t know where to go to get the care they need.
A team at VCU is working to help address this tremendous need through the Richmond Brain Health Initiative, which offers cognitive screenings while connecting patients with local brain health providers and services, dementia lifestyle coaching, and caregiver support services.
Now in its second year of a three-year, $1.2 million federal grant supporting its work, the co-directors of the RBHI — Brian Berman, M.D., Director of the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center, Lana Sargent, Ph.D., APRN, Assistant Dean of Practice and Community Engagement, and Faika Zanjani, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Gerontology — are looking to expand the number of people who take advantage of its services and to find additional funding sources to make it sustainable over the long term.
“There’s a huge need for the services the RBHI provides,” Berman says, noting many people who have cognitive decline are unable to get care due to poverty, isolation, and lack of insurance, among other reasons.
“The Brain Health Initiative is really meant to reach out to lower income or medically disadvantaged individuals who often don’t have doctors,” Berman says. “There’s a large number of people with brain health care needs who don’t interact with the medical community.”
A 2022 report from the initiative notes racial minorities are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and the RBHI has focused much of its efforts on reaching members of Richmond’s African American community.
The RBHI offers phone-based and in-person services at no cost to the participant. These include health coaching on how to lower the risk of brain health impairments, care consultations for people with cognitive decline as well as their caregivers, and a care navigator to help patients find Alzheimer’s disease healthcare providers for treatment and support services for improved quality of life.
The organizations taking part in the initiative include the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center, the university’s Departments of Gerontology and Nursing, as well as the VCU Center for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation (iCubed) Health Wellness and Aging Core.
Members of the RBHI said in their 2022 report that they plan to expand partnerships with local and state-wide organizations, such as the Alzheimer’s Association’s Greater Richmond chapter and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in order to create a Richmond-area network of brain care support services within the community for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Dr. Berman says the RBHI is actively looking for additional federal dollars, state money, as well as foundation and donor support to help sustain the RBHI and maintain the level of services it provides for the community.
“Cognitive decline and dementia is a growing problem. It’s going to be a considerable challenge to deliver care to the people who need it,” Berman says. “The successes and relationships and referral patterns that’s being developed, we’d hate to lose out on what’s been achieved so far. We’ve got to continue and reach people who need this care.”