Living with her grandfather during his journey with dementia is an experience that Christine (Chris) Skovira will always hold dear. Not only was she able to spend precious time with her beloved family member, but she was also inspired to improve care for others along the same journey. As a first-year student at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, she began volunteering in a skilled nursing facility serving others with dementia through the Music for Dementia program.

“Medical school is rewarding but often isolating,” said Skovira. “I heard similar feelings of isolation from older adults. I realized that lessons I had learned from living with my loved one and from volunteering were helping me on my medical school exams.”

Skovira, now a fourth-year medical student who worked on designing community health and health equity programs for ten years prior to medical school, went to work creating a proposal to present to college leadership. Alongside Irving Vega, an MSU Red Cedar Distinguished Associate Professor who studies dementia, the two compiled details outlining a program to improve the well-being of older adults with dementia while shaping the next generation of care providers. It became the Intergenerational Living Program, a first-of-its-kind program and partnership with the Dementia Institute at Holland Home.