Dementia Care Navigation: The Role and Training of Dementia Care Specialists in Managed Care Organizations

Recent policy shifts in the United States have created opportunities for managed care organizations (MCOs) to put in place care navigators, like Dementia Care Specialists (DCS), to coordinate care for older adults living with dementia and their families. This paper presents findings of the DCS training model developed primarily for nurse and social work care managers within ten MCOs that participated in California's pilot program serving Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible members as part of a contracted collaboration with state agencies and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services between 2013 and 2018, along with updated training model resources for replication.