WHO WE ARE | San Diego Imperial

Who we are.

The San Diego/Imperial Geriatric Education Center (SDIGEC) was established in 2015 to address the need for enhanced geriatric education on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) in San Diego County, California. This work built upon a county-wide assessment of San Diego titled The Alzheimer’s Project, which continues to shape services for people experiencing memory loss and to inform the Age Well San Diego Action Plan to create a vision of an age-friendly/dementia-friendly San Diego. As part of this process, we have successfully developed robust, working partnerships spanning academic, healthcare, community and County program providers to collaboratively address this increasingly important issue in our region using multiple approaches to maximize impact. In 2019, we expanded our focus to include comprehensive geriatrics and age-friendly health care education for primary care in rural and underserved areas. We have developed partnerships with several Federally Qualified Health Centers and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly and expanded our program by adding the neighboring Imperial County here in Southern California.

Our Objectives

Develop partnerships between academia, primary care delivery sites, and community-based organizations to train a workforce to provide value-based care that improves health outcomes for older adults
Train primary care providers, and health professions students, residents, fellows, and faculty
Deliver community-based programs that provide patients, families, caregivers, and direct care workers with the knowledge and skills to improve health outcomes for older adults
Transform primary care environments into dementia-friendly/age-friendly systems that provide value-based care and improve health outcomes for older adults.