New Support Program For Families Of Loved Ones With Dementia Rolling Out On Nantucket

A federal program that began in 2024 is now available on the island and may offer some respite to the caregivers of people living with dementia on Nantucket. Locally administered by Best of Care, the GUIDE program is a Medicare initiative that offers in-home, around-the-clock support for caregivers at no cost.

While people living with dementia often require comprehensive care, programs funded by Medicare have historically offered only limited hours of support and occasional home visits. According to the GUIDE website, this results in high rates of hospitalization, emergency department visits, and even death. It also places a heavy burden on unpaid caregivers, often family members, who fill in the gaps with relatively little training and no compensation while continuing to support themselves, leading to high levels of stress and depression.

GUIDE changed the paradigm with a 24/7 support line, caregiver training and education, 19 four-hour visits from a trained caregiver, and other efforts to help people with dementia remain in their homes and communities longer.

“This is kind of the first program in Medicare history where they are providing services and support at no cost to the clients and the families in their home,” Best of Care co-founder Erin Lynch told the Current.

Lynch highlighted the educational aspects of the program, which help teach people how to interact with and care for their loved ones who may be struggling with dementia, how to plan for the future as they age, and how to evaluate different care and insurance options.

Lynch is the vice president of care management and consulting at Best of Care, formerly TUCKed in Eldercare, a regional eldercare company that began on Nantucket. She works with a team of four nurses and over 65 aides to support her clients, offering different levels of care depending on what is needed. GUIDE has allowed her to expand her offerings and provide more support at no cost to some clients.

“I think, finally, people are picking up traction,” Lynch said. “The goal is to decrease caregiver burnout and to decrease hospitalizations.”

Lynch studied gerontology, the study of aging, as a graduate student at UMass Boston before moving to Nantucket to work at Our Island Home.

“When you're taking care of an 85-year-old individual, you have to remember they once were our age,” Lynch said. “They once were 21 years old. They were in college, they were at the bars late [at] night, they had a life. They have so many stories to share. And it's just so sad that people kind of just push them to the side, as if they didn't just live a whole life.”