In a conference room in the heart of the small mountain community of Estes Park, Colorado, a sense of shared experience and community filled the air as more than 100 people gathered.

While some familiar faces were present, as is often the case in rural communities, about half of the participants had traveled from surrounding areas. Despite their different backgrounds, ages and home towns, they all shared one commonality: Dementia was affecting their lives, and they were seeking guidance and resources.

Alzheimer’s disease has emerged as a significant public health challenge in Colorado, impacting one in 10 residents aged 65 and older. Dementia is an umbrella term for diseases like Alzheimer’s that cause symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities that interfere with daily life. Dementia is the state’s seventh-leading cause of death. Mortality rates are even higher in Weld and Larimer counties, home to many rural communities including Estes Park.

Dementia affects individuals but also caregivers. In Colorado, one in five people care for someone with Alzheimer’s, and they often experience social isolation, depression and frequent poor physical and mental health, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Recognizing these needs of patients and caregivers, UCHealth and Dementia Together are partnering to offer more resources to communities, especially in rural areas, for this growing public health challenge.

Estes Park holds its first educational symposium for people on the dementia journey

In October 2024, UCHealth and Dementia Together teamed up to offer a “Living Well with Dementia” educational symposium. Attendees included 112 caregivers who were introduced to a different way of thinking about dementia, a method called SPECAL, created by Contented Dementia Trust and brought to the U.S. by Dementia Together.

The model is based on the philosophy that dementia disables the efficient storage of facts, while feelings continue to be stored as usual. With this approach, caregivers can work positively to improve the well-being of the person living with dementia, which in turn reduces stress and communication frustrations of the care partner. {side bar: Read more on Dementia resources: How to communicate and connect.}

Eleven attendees living with dementia participated in Dementia Together’s Memory Café, a social gathering event focused on reminiscing, games, music and laughter.

“Dementia Together uses practical strategies that promote well-being for patients and caregivers,” said Colette Thompson, senior director of Community Health Improvement for UCHealth. “It makes sense to leverage our resources with these evidence-based strategies we know work.”

UCHealth hopes that a partnership with Dementia Together will allow more health care professionals and rural communities with growing older adult populations and limited resources to access this model and training.

Thompson is hopeful that Estes Park was just the start, adding that UCHealth and Dementia Together are committed to improving the lives of those affected by dementia and their care partners.

UCHealth identifies the needs of their underserved communities

The services offered through UCHealth Community Health Improvement expand across Larimer and Weld counties, into Longmont and Boulder communities, metro Denver and Colorado Springs.

Some services in those communities include:

• Aspen Club offers educational classes for those 50 and older on everything from nutrition and balance to Medicare and medications.
• Healthy Hearts and Minds empowers school-aged students, adults and educators by offering education on heart disease prevention and physical and emotional wellness. It includes programs like the 5210+ Challenge and BstrongBfit girls’ running club.
• Project SEARCH supports young adults with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities through a school-to-work transition program at UCHealth’s hospitals.

Every three years, UCHealth conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment of the communities its hospitals serve. Those findings influence priorities and strategies for UCHealth.

“As a non-profit hospital, we keep our money local to address local issues,” Thompson said. “These strategies aren’t just for the benefit of our patients, but for the broader community.”

The assessments and strategies from the reports are shared and aligned with other community goals, such as those from local health departments. Leaders from Community Health Improvement sit on several community coalitions and boards to ensure ongoing conversations and collaboration.

It was the assessment, along with those conversations, that identified the need for education about dementia in Estes Park, Thompson said.

Over the years, UCHealth has built strong relationships with leaders at Estes Park’s community center, long-term care facilities, churches and Timberline Clinic, said JoAnn Herkenhoff, manager of Community Health Improvement. These partners asked if UCHealth could expand its offerings into dementia and cognitive health for their residents. Dementia Together got the same request, said Claire Richardson, outreach and resource development manager for Dementia Together.

For some time, UCHealth Aspen Club has offered classes in Estes Park. Monthly offerings include Medicare counseling, health education presentations on various topics, balance screening and in-person blood pressure checks with a nurse educator. The symposium and partnership with Dementia Together is an opportunity to work through the Aspen Club to offer more to Estes Park and similar rural communities throughout Larimer and Weld counties.

“We hope to target areas with a high diagnosis rate of dementia,” Herkenhoff said. “We will be working with our health educators to determine which locations make sense and what partnerships will help make that possible.”

Dementia Together changes courses to follow local lead and need

Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Dementia Together’s mission was to offer programs in every major city, she said. But like UCHealth, its leaders heard the pleas of rural residents and took action.

“We started hearing that home health and hospitals were leaving these rural communities,” Richardson said. “We stopped in our tracks. Estes Park is in our backyard, yet they are losing resources. We had to re-evaluate our plan.

“The narrative of crisis and tragedy that comes with dementia is exacerbated when there are no resources,” she said. “But we want people to know there is joy to be had, and there are support groups and education classes for people on this dementia journey.”

Richardson said UCHealth plays an important role in that journey.

UCHealth’s role in dementia training, education and the expansion into rural communities

“We serve people from diagnosis typically to end of life,” Richardson said. “Inside of that, our responsibility is to educate families and help with a support system that serves that family.

“UCHealth plays a big role because they are the frontline that sees these people. Being active in dementia education and wanting to serve the community, like being involved in our Estes Park symposium, shows the breadth of UCHealth’s support in walking the journey and helping us get those resources to those who need it.”

With the new Community Benefit Needs Assessment as its guide, Herkenhoff said UCHealth will not only be looking at how to continue partnering with Dementia Together to offer education in their communities but also considering training for other community partners.

“This is a wonderful partnership that will help UCHealth address community health concerns and educate the people around them who care for them,” Thompson said.