Washington County ADRC staff named to state advisory group; local dementia caregiver specialist wins award

Tammy, an ADRC staff member, told the Washington County HHS committee on June 25 that she was nominated by the regional quality specialist to join the state ADRC 2030 advisory group.

Tammy said the advisory group is one of five regional representatives that will work over the next five years to study an aging and disability service network, with a focus on leveraging technology and creating internal efficiencies. “We had our very first meeting and broke off into two subcommittees,” she said, adding that one subcommittee will examine ADRC contracts with managed care organizations and the other will review the scope of mandated ADRC services.

Tammy also reported that Tammy Dickman, the county’s dementia caregiver support specialist, won a Judy Phillips Influencers in Aging award. “She does amazing things in the community to support people living with dementia and their families,” Tammy said, describing memory cafes, respite events and caregiver coalition work.

County staff said they attended Aging Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in Madison to meet with legislators and staff, discuss ADRC priorities and promote home-delivered meal and healthy aging initiatives.

Staff said the ADRC advisory-group work is in its early phase and they plan to survey ADRC directors and supervisors statewide for input on the scope-of-service review. No formal policy changes or funding decisions were made at the June 25 meeting; staff will return with updates as the advisory work progresses.

Ending: The ADRC will continue state advisory work and follow up with committee updates; the county plans further outreach and reporting on the initiative.