New Dementia program coming soon

On Jan. 14, 2026, a new program to support community members impacted by dementia will kick off at the Flathead County Agency on Aging located at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. These are free to attend, and no advance registration is necessary.

Monthly education will take place with dementia educator and care navigator Kerry Nagel with the Life Care Experts. She will present on the second Wednesday of each month, at 10:30 a.m. in the south campus conference room, second floor. The schedule of lecture series will change monthly and focus on various aspects of life care and how to strengthen the journey when caring for someone with dementia. Additional support is offered with a drop-in-open discussion forum which are also free to attend.

 These fireside chats will take place in the Agency on Aging’s dining room on the fourth Monday of every month at 3 p.m. Dementia specialists will be on hand to provide support and a safe place to ask questions or discuss challenges. This is a unique partnership with Flathead County Agency on Aging and The Life Care Experts.

 A structured program was unveiled in 2024 to provide support to Family Caregivers by offering aging life care planning sessions in partnership with The Life Care Experts owner Jennifer Crowley, using her “7 Steps to Long Term Care Planning” framework. 

The AOA developed the family caregiver support program to address challenges they were seeing amongst family caregivers, including caregiver burnout, and many not feeling equipped to navigate multiple complex situations. Through funds from the Older Americans Act earmarked for caregiver support, they have been able to support dozens of caregivers through guided sessions focused on proactive planning. 

What was discovered after the launch of the program was the alarming trend of caregivers caring for someone with dementia. The caregivers were reporting being overwhelmed, uncertainty, and lack of support locally. Their experience and feedback became the stimulus for development of the 2026 monthly dementia education series and caregiver support. 

“These sessions were initially designed to be a starting point for conversation aimed at proactively addressing the journey together. I began to understand that many families were already past a point of comfort, and I was also alarmed at the number of caregivers of persons with dementia, or memory loss that hadn’t been figured out yet. While any progress towards empowerment of the caregiver and family is great, what they really need is support through the continuum and richer support at different stages, and especially early on- they need help to be able to see the road map in front of them,” said Crowley. 

“We are very excited to add an extension to the family caregiver support program by offering free monthly education and open forum sessions coordinated by the Life Care Experts. This is an opportunity for family caregivers as well as community members to learn more about how to care for, and respond to, someone with dementia by addressing a new topic every month in a safe environment with trained professionals,” said Carla Dyment, Director for the Agency on Aging. 

To learn more about aging life care planning, Dementia Navigation, or the 2026 Education series led by Dementia Navigator Kerry Nagel contact the Agency on Aging at 406-758-5730. 

Jennfier Crowley is a Certified Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia Trainer and founder of the Life Care Experts and The Life Care Management Institute. Kerry Nagel is a Dementia Educator & Care Navigator with the Life Care Experts. You can learn more by going to www.thelifecareexperts.com.