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Experts highlight Georgia MemoryNet, caregiver training and community day programs as key supports
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Summary
Researchers and service providers told the Senate study committee that Georgia MemoryNet, caregiver training programs such as Savvy Caregiver, and local day‑programs like Via Cognitive Health provide diagnostic, training and respite services caregivers need — but demand outstrips capacity, especially in rural counties.
Researchers and program directors told the Senate study committee that existing diagnostic networks and caregiver training programs provide concrete supports but need more capacity and better outreach to reach rural and underserved families.
Dr. Ken Hepburn of Emory University described Georgia MemoryNet as a statewide network of memory assessment clinics, with a coordinated protocol of neuropsychological and caregiver assessments, a community service educator who maps local resources and an ongoing consultation link to primary‑care providers. Hepburn said MemoryNet’s clinics provide an hour‑plus patient assessment and deliver follow‑up diagnoses and individualized care plans to families and providers, a process designed to strengthen local primary‑care responses and reduce fragmentation of services.
Hepburn also described the Savvy Caregiver program, developed by his colleagues as a six‑session, two‑hours‑per‑week training series (now available virtually in many communities) that trials show increases caregivers’ sense of competence and reduces emotional burden. He said Georgia MemoryNet partners already offer Savvy workshops and that sessions fill quickly.
Local providers described community day programs and resource navigation. Jennifer Pennington, executive director of Via Cognitive Health in Augusta, said her campus offers brain‑health programming, care‑partner support and a day program that improved both members’ sleep and family caregivers’ ability to rest. Panelists from the Alzheimer’s Association and AARP described caregiver resource guides, online videos, local support groups and state‑level planning (the Georgia Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias State Plan and an inaugural report required by House Bill 571) that aggregate needs and recommend priorities.
Presenters uniformly stressed workforce and access constraints: rural counties have fewer clinicians and memory clinics, and many caregivers do not receive any formal medical or practical training for ADLs and other tasks. Panelists recommended expanding training, increasing telehealth and tele‑Savvy delivery, and ensuring primary‑care points‑of‑contact share MemoryNet and local resources at the initial diagnosis and hospital discharge.
The committee heard caregiver testimony that community day programs and local navigation materially eased caregiver burnout and improved family outcomes; program directors offered to provide model curricula and metrics to committee staff.
