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More people with dementia in the state will receive early diagnosis, treatment and counseling, and their families will be better served, with the resumption of public funding for a treatment center for Alzheimer's disease. the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, SIU officials said.
A New Partnership Between the Faculty of Medicine and Memorial Medical Center in Springfield Will Allow the SIU Medicine's Alzheimer's Disease and Allied Disease Center to Receive $ 1.5 Million Annually to Strengthen Specialized Clinical Services in Springfield and revitalize a network of sites including Peoria, Rockford, Hillsboro, Jacksonville, Galesburg and Effingham.
"We are trying to adapt to our situation four years ago," said neurologist Tom Ala, acting director of the Alzheimer's Center.
The Alzheimer's Center, created 31 years ago, serves more than 4,000 Illinois residents each year through its Springfield Clinical Site and its Aging and Memory Network. The center and network serve all of Illinois outside the Chicago area.
The memory network is made up of almost three dozen health care providers who screen for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia and manage the care of these patients in accordance with SIU Medicine's guidelines. of doctors on several specialties of the faculty of medicine.
Each year, the center received $ 1.5 million from the state until July 2014, when HSHS St. John's Hospital transferred the money through a credit of Medicaid, had stopped sending this money to the SIU.
Officials in St. John's said at the time that money intended for the USSU had received a special designation stating that the UES was to be the final destination of the funds. St. John's stated that the designation had been removed by the state as part of the hospital fee reform that came into effect during the 2015 fiscal year.
St. John's continued to receive $ 1.5 million but decided to use this money to offset the cost of care for St. John's patients supported by Medicaid, officials at the 415 hospital said. beds.
Memorial became the new vector of funds after the General Assembly and Governor Bruce Rauner approved a law amending the $ 3.5 billion Medicaid Evaluation Program, generating funds additional for hospitals and other health care providers in Illinois.
The legislation, which recently validated the evaluation program by federal officials, will allow the SIU to receive a combination of Medicaid dollars from the state and the federal government, as part of the disease control program. Alzheimer's 1.5 million, according to Edgar Curtis, Executive Director of Memorial Health System.
Memorial, a 500-bed hospital, would have the opportunity to keep $ 1.5 million and not transfer that money to the SIU, but that will never happen, Curtis said.
Memorial will keep the funding pipeline to the UES "absolutely indefinitely," Curtis said. "The money is for that. We will honor this long-term commitment. We are very attached to neuroscience. "
The renewed funding allowed a nurse to join the program and help Springfield's clinical staff better serve patients and their families, said Ala.
This money will also enable the SIU to reconstruct its bi-annual memory loss conference for caregivers and health professionals, and to increase research and programs for people with dementia, their families, and their families. caregivers, he said.
A program to be restored, a "brain bank," serves families by confirming dementia in brain samples after the death of loved ones. The program is also conducting research on brain donation from autopsies, said Ala.
The UES has raised approximately $ 200,000 in charitable donations to help the center continue to operate after funding closes. The UES has maintained the center and network of memory and aging – albeit at a reduced level – with donations, external grants and funds from the faculty of medicine, officials said.
Refunds that the UES sent to network sites have been halved in four years, said Ala.
The sites, operated by separate UES organizations, used the UES refunds to pay for doctors, nurses, and social workers performing dementia tests. These evaluations have resulted in drug recommendations for treating dementia symptoms, as well as suggestions for other aspects of care for people with the incurable disease.
The cuts in repayments have resulted in reduced services or the complete cessation of assessments at some sites, said Ala.
Greg Kyrouac, Director of Education and Outreach at the Alzheimer Center, said that the number of sites that have completed assessments has halved in the last four years.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 915 patients were assessed, compared to 1,414 in the previous fiscal year, before the UES reduced its reimbursement rates, Kyrouac said.
Ala said he hoped that restoring previous reimbursement levels would serve more patients.
The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 5.7 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease. This number is expected to reach nearly 14 million by 2050.
Valerie Duff, a Certified Clinical Social Worker at the SSM Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon, said that restoring state funding for the Alzheimer's Center would likely mean she could again receive funding for local events organized free of charge to the public.
Duff said she had to eliminate these events in the last four years. Her employer allowed her to continue providing Alzheimer's assessments to patients despite reduced reimbursements from the SIU.
Public events have often helped families discover the dementia assessment program and other local programs to help them cope with the effects of Alzheimer's disease, Duff said.
She was pleased to hear that funding for Alzheimer's disease had been restored. The people of southern Illinois will benefit, said Duff.
"They will certainly be able to get better access to help and more resources," she said.
The Alzheimer's Center has used a $ 702,000 grant from the federal government over the last three years to expand some dementia-related services in Springfield and elsewhere in the district, Ala said.
These services, he said, include an intensive falls and exercise prevention course, a course for caregivers of people with dementia who are still living at home, and an intergenerational arts program.
The services funded by the grant also include a Music and Memory program, which uses portable audio players to boost morale and create pleasant memories.
The federal grant will be completed in September 2019, said Ala.
Contact Dean Olsen: [email protected], 788-1543, twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.
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