PALTC23 Conference Recordings FR25 Memory Care Matters! Advocacy Updates in Assisted Living Focusing on Dementia

Memory Care Matters! Advocacy Updates in Assisted Living Focusing on Dementia

Assisted living (AL) provides long-term care services to more people in the US than nursing homes, in a setting that promotes the independence and autonomy of its residents. Over 70% of AL residents nationally have a diagnosis of dementia or memory loss, leading to the development of memory care (MC) licenses for specialized dementia care. Without federal oversight, there is great variation between AL regulations state to state, with significant heterogeneity in AL structure and services provided. In MC, residents need advocates to ensure the care provided follows best practices and current evidence. The role of medical director in AL has gained popularity in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, yet few clinicians are aware of the policies and regulations that AL’s abide by. This session will review dementia related statistics in AL, provide education on Dementia Care Practice Recommendations, and review the regulatory environment and advocacy opportunities from a state and national level.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

  • Identify the challenges unique to specialized memory care in Assisted Living communities.
  • Improve identification of cognitive impairment to offer dementia-related services to AL residents earlier in the disease process.
  • Implement evidence-based and expert-supported Dementia Care Practice Recommendations to the care of AL residents with cognitive impairment.
  • Synthesize opportunities for advocacy of AL residents at the local, state, and national level.

Doug Pace, LNHA

Doug Pace, LNHA, is the Senior Director of Long-Term & Community-Based Care with the Alzheimer's Association. In this role, he provides strategic leadership in quality person-centered dementia care. He was the co-lead of the Association's Dementia Care Practice Recommendations and leads the Dementia Care Provider Roundtable and the Association's long-term care Project Echo work. In addition, he is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for CEAL, the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living.

LaShuan Bethea, JD, MEd, BSN, RN

LaShuan Bethea, JD, MEd, BSN, RN, is the executive director of the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) – the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). Ms. Bethea joined NCAL from Genesis Healthcare, Inc. where she served in various leadership roles from 2007 – 2021. Ms. Bethea, a registered nurse and attorney, has a depth of long term care experience who began at Genesis HealthCare in February 2007 and quickly advanced to the director of regulatory and program development before being promoted in 2015 to vice president of legislative affairs. She assumed a dual role as vice president of reimbursement in 2020 and was appointed to chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in June 2020. Ms. Bethea received her law degree from Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg, PA. She earned a Master’s degree in Education from American Intercontinental University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Phoenix.

Sarah Howd, MD, CMD

Sarah Howd, MD, CMD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Rochester. Dr. Howd serves as the Associate Medical Director of the Senior Living Practice of UR Medicine Geriatrics Group. She cares for patients at several area independent and assisted living communities, and serves as medical director of seven assisted livings. She is a 2022 Tideswell Scholar with the Emerging Leaders in Aging Program through UCSF and the American Geriatric Society, and serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee for Assisted Living through AMDA’s Society of Post-Acute and Long Term Care Medicine.

  • 1.25 CME
  • 1.25 CMD Management
  • 1.25 MOC

Release Date: 03/29/2023   |   Expiration: 03/01/2026

Credit Statements:

Accreditation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

CME Designation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CMD Credit Hours: This CME activity has been pre-approved by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) for up to 1.25 management hour(s) toward certification or recertification as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in post-acute and long-term care medicine. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit actually spent on the activity.

The CMD Program is administered by the ABPLM. For further information, contact ABPLM at 410-992-3117 or at cmd@paltmed.org.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC): Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Financial Disclosure Statement:

The Association requires the disclosure of all speaker/faculty/planner’s relevant financial relationships; presence of off-label use of a device or medication; and discussion of any experimental, new or evolving topic prior to each accredited education activity.

If the learner perceives any bias toward a commercial product or service, advocation of unscientific approaches to diagnosis or therapy, or recommendation, treatment, or manners of practicing healthcare that are determined to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients please report this to the Association's staff.


The following speaker(s) disclosed relevant financial relationship(s): 

  • Julie Gammack, MD, CMD (Planner & Speaker): Stockholder: Amarin
  • Kenya Rivas Velasquez, MD, CMD, FAAFP (Planner & Speaker): OptumRx: Stockholder
  • All other planners, speakers, and AMDA staff have no relationships with ineligible companies.

All relevant financial relationships have been identified and mitigated.

Components visible upon registration.