Georgia's Leading Memory Care Center

Access to Georgia Memory Net clinic services requires a referral from a Primary Care Provider (PCP). Potential patients should discuss their memory concerns with their PCP, who can provide a Georgia Memory Net Memory Assessment Clinic referral if they meet the referral criteria.

Many medical and mental health issues may mask as Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. Physicians or Advanced Practice Providers, such as Nurse Practitioners or Physician Assistants, are best equipped to rule out some of the masking disorders, including thyroid or Vitamin B disorders, depression and side effects of particular medications or combinations of medications. Using the PCPs to determine the greatest likelihood of a dementia prior to making the referral enables Georgia Memory Net to streamline the process of delivering diagnostic and care planning expertise.

General neurologists treat a wide range of conditions and diseases affecting the nervous system. Cognitive neurologists specialize in treating patients with memory loss, dementia and cognitive dysfunction. There are few cognitive neurologists in Georgia outside of Atlanta. Using telehealth and consultative resources, Georgia Memory Net provides its Memory Assessment Clinics with access to cognitive neurologists, Emory clinicians and scientists specializing in memory issues and cognitive decline, and a Community Service Educator (CSE) for care recommendations. Moreover, Georgia Memory Net staff has the education and resources to follow up with a patient’s local Primary Care Physician, ensuring that they are well-equipped to continue caring for their patients with memory issues and cognitive decline, since many patients are unable to regularly visit a neurologist due to geographic distance or scheduling constraints.

In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, a person may start to have problems making sense of the world around them. Though no two people’s symptoms are the same, common early signs of dementia can include memory loss, poor judgement, losing track of dates, getting lost, and others. If you or someone you care about is experiencing symptoms, talk to a Primary Care Provider.

The majority of older adults continue to have strong memories as they age. Almost 40% of people will experience some mild memory loss after the age of 65. About 1 in 9 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s. If forgetting names or appointments becomes a regular occurrence, talk to your Primary Care Provider.

There are many possible causes of memory loss and other dementia-like symptoms. Those causes can include stress and anxiety, as well as medicine side-effects, head injuries, alcohol use, vitamin deficiencies, and others. It’s important to seek a diagnosis when experiencing memory loss since some of these causes are reversible. Even if the cause is Alzheimer’s or a related dementia, diagnosis can still make a positive difference.

Georgia Memory Net will train Primary Care Providers on how to conduct and bill for the Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), ensuring the Mini-Cog™ is conducted within the AWV. PCPs will also receive training on providing the best care for dementia patients and their families in primary care settings to ensure they’re equipped to care for their patients in the long term following their Memory Assessment Clinic visits. As Memory Assessment Clinics go from pilot to full operations, Georgia Memory Net will deliver regional messaging in digital and live format via webinars regarding referral processes via AWVs, expectations of PCP-to-Memory Assessment Clinic communications and care continuity instruction. Georgia Memory Net will offer regional and statewide conferences in partnership with various professional organizations like the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, or the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association.

The Community Service Educator meets with Georgia Memory Network patients and their care partners to provide initial support and education, assess initial care needs, develop written care recommendations and link the patients and care partners with community resources that can provide ongoing support, like the Alzheimer’s Association and the local Area Agency on Aging.

No. Georgia Memory Net Memory Assessment Clinics are not designed to provide ongoing patient care, so the Community Services Educator is not able to provide ongoing care coordination, case management or counseling services. The CSE connects people living with dementia and their care partners to local community resources that can address their individualized needs. These resources may include the Area Agencies on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving.