<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2pvlnZ_17nG3RXM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2pvlnZ_17nG3RXM00" width="1440" height="810" ><figcaption>MSU medical student Kaylin Burton, left, interacts with Holland Home residents through the Intergenerational Living Initiative. (Photo courtesy of the Dementia Institute and the MSU College of Human Medicine)</figcaption></figure>In what’s being billed as the nation’s first immersive memory care program, a medical student is living onsite at a Michigan senior living campus to deepen her dementia education and advance best practices in care for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.Kaylin Burton, a first-year Michigan State University medical student, moved into an independent living apartment at Holland Home’s Raybrook continuing care retirement / life plan community campus in Grand Rapids in August as part of the Intergenerational Living Initiative, a program created through a partnership between the Dementia Institute and the MSU College of Human Medicine.Holland Home Raybrook, minutes from the MSU Grand Rapids campus, was chosen for the pilot project due to its long-standing commitment to serving older adults and its broad continuum of care, including independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. The Dementia Institute was established in 2023 based on hands-on experience supporting residents living with dementia at Holland Home. Dementia Institute Director Curt Gritters told McKnight’s Senior Living that Holland House emerged as a natural and strategic pilot site for the initiative “given its expertise, infrastructure and alignment with the program’s goals.” The institute, a division of Trillium Living along with Holland Home, partners with a broad network of organizations specializing in dementia across 22 states via senior living, home care, hospice, adult day services and community-based care to advance best practices, provide education and training, and support caregivers and professionals in delivering person-centered dementia care, he added. The Intergenerational Living Initiative, he said, is the culmination of more than two years of research and collaborative development between the Dementia Institute and MSU. Medical student Burton, surrounded by older adults, regularly socializes with residents who live in all levels of care, but she focuses on engaging with residents in one of the community’s memory care neighborhoods. Gritters said that Burton benefits from a “rare immersive-learning experience that will influence how she practices as a physician for years to come.”“Older adults benefit because the demand is only increasing for excellent physicians to care for them,” Gritters said. “Residents of Holland Home benefit from the joys of intergenerational engagement and from the focus of the Dementia Institute and MSU College of Human Medicine to advance world-class dementia care at Holland Home.”Burton’s housing agreement through the program includes her apartment and the community’s amenities in exchange for her involvement at Holland Home. Once her living-learning experience ends in June, she will return to the MSU College of Human Medicine’s Upper Peninsula campus in Marquette, MI, to complete medical school. “Living alongside residents has transformed my understanding of dementia in ways no textbook ever could,” Burton said in a statement. “Every day brings moments of connection and learning — and those moments reinforce why I’m committed to becoming a physician who sees the whole person.”<h2>Lessons learned</h2>Gritters said that the early success of the test has paved the way to continue and expand the program. “By the end of Kaylin’s first week, we knew this program was something special. Residents lit up around her,” he said. “That response affirmed that this initiative is exactly the kind of excellence we strive for: doing the right thing for our residents while investing in the next generation of dementia-capable physicians.”Whether or not healthcare providers someday can prescribe medications to cure dementia, Gritters said, the power of human connection never will abate. He praised MSU for recognizing that pathophysiology and pharmacology classes alone are insufficient for physician training.“In our quest to improve dementia well-being, the Dementia Institute equips care partners — from family members to neurologists — with the unique knowledge and skills to engage people living with dementia,” Gritters said.Universities, colleges and senior living providers interested in learning more about the Intergenerational Living Initiative can contact Gritters at [email protected].</div></body>

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In what’s being billed as the nation’s first immersive memory care program, a medical student is living onsite at a Michigan senior living campus to deepen her dementia education and advance best practices in care for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Kaylin...

Immersive dementia care program aims to shape next generation of physicians through life in senior living

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In what’s being billed as the nation’s first immersive memory care program, a medical student is living onsite at a Michigan senior living campus to deepen

Immersive dementia care program aims to shape next generation of physicians through life in senior living

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