Reaching out across Minnesota, from Ada to Zumbrota
Joe Gaugler is traveling to every Minnesota county to share the latest information on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Joe Gaugler is six years and roughly 10,000 driving miles into an epic community engagement project, and on an unseasonably sultry September day, his roadshow is coming to life here in Olmsted County in southern Minnesota.
"Roadshow" is a light-hearted term for Gaugler’s ongoing and incredibly ambitious work. His Dementia Educational Experience Roadshow (DEER) entails traveling to each of Minnesota’s 87 counties and delivering presentations (two per day per county) that last about 90 minutes, with plenty of time for interactions with curious attendees along the way.
Gaugler gives a broad overview of the symptoms comprising dementia, the stages of Alzheimer’s (AD)—the most common form of dementia—and the ever-evolving landscape of care for and treatment of people with AD.
He fires off the occasional question, like, "How many people in the room would want to know if they’re going to get Alzheimer’s?" A majority of hands spike upward here, but the answers he gets—and the questions lobbed back at him—are never the same. He loves that each presentation winds up having its own dynamic, sparked by the range of attendees.
The Olmsted County presentation (at a senior living facility in Rochester) attracted Amy Hoehn, a certified dementia practitioner and Reflections Director at the Shorewood Senior Campus across town. She also runs a support group for caregivers through the Alzheimer’s Association and came to learn more about how to support them and the seniors she cares for.
"What I enjoyed the most was hearing the questions the other people were asking. It really identified where the gaps in education are not only from the doctor’s office but from a community perspective," Hoehn says. And “I really like that he touched base on person-centered care. Developing a plan that is unique to an individual is so important. … What’s so crazy about dementia is what works one day isn’t going to work another.”
Pop Quiz
Which is the smallest county in Minnesota by population?
A. Kittson County (northwestern MN)
Incorrect, but a good guess, as Kittson County has fewer than 5,000 residents.
B. Roseau County (northwestern MN)
Incorrect. Roseau County has around 15,000 residents.
C. Traverse County (western MN)
Correct! Bordering the Bois de Sioux River and Lake Traverse, Traverse County had 3,360 residents as of the 2020 Census.
D. Cook County (northeastern MN)
Incorrect, but a good guess. Cook County has about 5,600 residents, along with a lot more visitors in the summer.
Count Jason Swanson as a fan of what he calls "Gaugler’s Roadshow." For five years, he’s been the executive director of the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, which serves 27 counties and about a half million people in southwestern Minnesota. He’s been to 10 of Gaugler’s county presentations.
"Every time he comes out here, we hear good feedback," Swanson says. "We have people asking, 'When can he come back; when can we have this again?' It really speaks to how good of a lecturer and communicator he is."
Hear Jason Swanson talk about the importance of Alzheimer’s education for Minnesotans.
An idea and a project years in the making
The roadshow's roots go back to about 2008, when Gaugler was housed at the U of M’s School of Nursing. An area agency on aging called Land of the Dancing Sky in northern Minnesota invited him to give talks on dementia education.
"That resonated a lot with me—being able to present to the community directly in this way," he says. "It was really them asking questions, so it ended up being pretty dynamic, and I enjoyed it a lot. I was very energized by it."
In subsequent years, his work moved toward developing and implementing interventions and programs of support for people living with dementia and those who care for them. Then, in 2018, Gaugler became the Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care and Aging in the School of Public Health.
"When I accepted this position I thought it made sense—in keeping with our outward-facing position as researchers—to expand some of these earlier, exciting experiences out in Minnesota and do the same thing for every county possible."
His roadshow started in the fall of 2018, paused during the pandemic, and picked up again in the summer of 2022.
Joining forces to share resources
A hallmark of Gaugler’s presentations is the presence of local community partners and stakeholders, who share their own resources for attendees. At Olmsted County, there were information tables for the Minnesota Senior Linkage line, the Visiting Angels and Home Instead senior home care services, Seasons Hospice, the Elder Network, and the Alzheimer’s Association (AA), among others.
"People are really desperate for information and looking for it wherever they can find it," says Susan Parriott, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter. She’s known Gaugler for her entire 13 years with the AA and has been to three of his presentations.
"It’s been helpful to have all the other community resource people that he’s invited to be there so people have access to all kinds of resources, which is what you need when you’re going through any dementia journey, whether it’s Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia," Parriott says. "What I like about working with Dr. Gaugler is that it’s a true partnership, I feel, between the Alzheimer’s Association and the University of Minnesota. Because neither one of us can be everywhere, so when we can go somewhere and support one another, it’s really nice."
Hear Susan Parriott talk about the deep partnerships between Gaugler and community organizations.
Community engagement on full display
For Gaugler, the roadshow presentations are not only satisfying personally, they’re a chance to fulfill the outreach obligation he sees as inherent in his position.
Olmsted was Gaugler's 30th county visited, leaving him with 57 additional "roadshow" trips.
"I really think every faculty member here at the U should be able to go out to the community—to everyday Minnesotans—and be able to describe their scholarship in a way that’s accessible, regardless of what area or discipline [they’re] in," he says.
"Me going out to the communities doesn’t just benefit the community. Hopefully, it does; that’s the primary goal,” he adds. “But it benefits [faculty] in the work we do. It provides that sense of confirmation that the work we’re doing is needed. And it’s voiced by Minnesotans themselves. We’re not in a feedback loop here."
Listen to Jason Swanson's thoughts on the value of Gaugler's visits, along with his own dream for the future.
Caring for People with Memory Loss Conference
Gaugler is well-known for the annual Caring for People with Memory Loss Conference he has hosted at the University of Minnesota since 2008. The event is held in early June, and typically draws between 200-330 attendees.
It includes hands-on, relevant talks on issues for caregivers ranging from stress reduction to financial planning.
Giving link
If you were inspired by this story, please consider a donation to the Manner/Weisenburger Fund for Alzheimer’s Education and Research
Related Links
Learn more about Joe Gaugler’s Dementia Educational Experience Roadshow.
