Austin, Texas 8/17/26 – As dementia diagnoses continue to rise, Hospice Austin and Austin Palliative Care are strengthening their commitment to providing specialized care for patients living with dementia by becoming the only hospice organization in the United States to be named to the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners’ (NCCDP) Memory Care Excellence Network (MCEN).
For patients facing serious illness, dementia often adds another layer of complexity to care. People living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia frequently experience challenges with communication, pain expression, anxiety, agitation, decision-making, and daily functioning, making specialized hospice and palliative care essential to maintaining comfort and quality of life.
To meet those needs, Hospice Austin and Austin Palliative Care are working to ensure every patient and family has access to caregivers trained in dementia-specific hospice and palliative care. Currently, approximately 50% of frontline staff members are Certified Dementia Practitioners (CDPs), and the organization is working toward certifying 100% of its frontline workforce.
“Dementia changes the way patients experience illness and the way families experience caregiving,” said Diana Wagner, Director of Training and Education for Hospice Austin and Austin Palliative Care. “Our goal is to ensure every member of our care team understands not only the medical needs of these patients but also the emotional, behavioral, and communication challenges that often accompany dementia and end-of-life care. Specialized training allows us to provide more compassionate, personalized care for both patients and their loved ones.”
The need for dementia-capable hospice and palliative care continues to grow. Researchers estimate that 42% of Americans over age 55 will eventually develop dementia during their lifetime. They further project that the number of new dementia cases in the United States will nearly double over the next four decades, growing from approximately 514,000 new cases in 2020 to nearly 1 million annually by 2060.
Through advanced dementia care training, Hospice Austin and Austin Palliative Care team members learn techniques for communicating with patients experiencing memory loss, recognizing unmet needs that may present as behavioral symptoms, supporting family caregivers, and creating care plans that honor each patient’s unique preferences and goals.
As Austin’s only nonprofit hospice, Hospice Austin has served Central Texas families for more than 45 years and remains committed to providing expert hospice and palliative care regardless of age, diagnosis, or ability to pay. By investing in dementia-specific education and certification, the organization is helping ensure that patients living with serious illness and dementia receive the specialized care they need during every stage of their journey.