The Indian Health Geriatric Scholars (GeriScholars) Program is excited to welcome 20 new participants to its 2025–2026 group. This program helps primary care doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists working in tribal and Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities by training them to improve dementia care in their communities.

“This year, we have more than ten mentors ready to support our GeriScholars as they work to improve elder care in their own clinics. Our mentors are largely from previous GeriScholars cohorts, all champions of geriatrics principles in their communities. This level of participation speaks to the ongoing success of the program and demonstrates a commitment to strengthening the care of older adults across tribal communities,” said Dr. Maria Bellantoni, IHS Chief Clinical Consultant for Geriatrics & Palliative Care.

Created in partnership with the Veteran Affairs (VA) Office of Rural Health, the GeriScholars Program is based on the successful VA Geriatric Scholars model. It has been carefully adapted to meet the unique needs of American Indian and Alaska Native people. This allows program participants to focus on diagnosing and managing dementia in ways that work for their local communities. The goal is to help communities grow stronger by working together on practical solutions that are based on facts and local needs.

Over nine months, participants will take part in a mix of learning, mentorship, and hands-on experience. They will complete a focused course on caring for older adults, carry out a project to improve care at their own workplace with help from a mentor, and stay connected through ongoing education and peer support.

This is the program’s third group, running from September 2025 to June 2026. Since it began in 2023, the program has trained 42 health care professionals across five tribal facilities and 11 IHS Areas. 

Visit the IHS website to learn more. 

​​​​​​Geriatric Nurse Fellowship: Clinical Impact
Improving Psychiatric Care and Ensuring Safety for Older Adults

Janet Erickson and Nichole Varoni are nurses with the Indian Health Service (IHS). They worked on a project through the IHS Geriatric Nurse Fellowship Program to help older American Indian and Alaska Native patients in the Bemidji Area get better mental health care. Many of these patients have more than one health problem, making it hard to manage their medications safely.

Erickson is a mental health nurse and Varoni, at the time of this project, was a case manager. They looked at two patients receiving care through a telepsychiatry clinic and worked together to find safer ways to plan and manage their mental health medications.

They used a trusted tool called the Beers Criteria® to help choose safer medications for older adults. Their goal was to give better care, lower the risks of taking too many medications, and make sure each patient felt respected and included in decisions about their health.

Key Clinical Insights from Their Project:

• Improvements in clinical care came from fixing medication mistakes, stopping unneeded medications, using other helpful strategies, and working as a team.
• The plan took more time and effort from both the doctor and nurse than expected.
• Taking extra time to look at other treatment options helped lead to better results.

Because of these results, the team is creating a plan to keep using this approach and hopes to expand it to more patients in the clinic’s main care program. To learn more about the Indian Health Geriatric Nurse Fellowship Program, visit the IHS Alzheimer’s Program website.

IHS Alzheimer’s Program Dementia Resource Hub

Check out these helpful Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving and provider resources on the IHS Alzheimer’s Program and partner websites: 

• International Association for Indigenous Aging Caregiving Initiative (IA2)
• Dementia Caregiving as a Public Health Strategy
• Health Care Worker Dementia Training Modules