BOLD - DEER Program

What is BOLD?

A Public Health Approach to Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias affect millions of Americans — including tens of thousands of Nevadans — and those numbers are climbing as the population ages. For decades, dementia was treated as a purely medical concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alzheimer’s Association created the Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) to change that, establishing dementia as a public health priority that communities can act on through prevention, early detection, education, and support.

To turn that vision into action, Congress passed the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act in 2018. BOLD funds the CDC to build real public health infrastructure: the coalitions, trained workforce, community programs, and data systems that a lasting response to dementia depends on.

In Nevada, the Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research (DEER) Program at the University of Nevada, Reno carries this work forward as a BOLD-funded partner through the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Guided by the CDC’s HBI Road Map for Public Health, 2023–2027 and the Nevada State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias to address dementia, the DEER Program turns the national agenda into local action, with the four areas of that Road Map shaping everything we do.

9 Dementia Friendly Nevada Community Groups statewide
95+ New coalition members & organizations recruited last year
7,000+ Dementia Self-Management Guidebooks distributed & downloaded
12 Distinguished Speaker Series education sessions each year

Now in Year 3 of BOLD funding: September 30, 2025 – September 29, 2026.

Our Road Map

Following the CDC Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map

Our scope of work is guided by the Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) State and Local Road Map for Public Health, 2023–2027, the national action agenda from the CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association. The Road Map organizes public health action into four areas. Here is how the DEER Program’s BOLD-funded work delivers on each.

P
Strengthen Partnerships & Policies
Convene multi-sector coalitions and build community–clinical linkages that expand equitable access to brain health and dementia support.
- Lead Dementia Friendly Nevada, Nevada’s statewide coalition on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and grow its network of local Community Groups.
- Build community–clinical linkages through bi-directional referral partnerships with Nevada health systems, healthcare providers, and community-based organizations.
- Align each Community Group’s goals with the Nevada State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.
E
Engage & Educate the Public
Raise public awareness of brain health, dementia risk factors, and the benefits of early detection with culturally responsive messaging.
- Host the monthly Dementia Friendly Nevada Distinguished Speaker Series, and publish routine educational social media and newsletters.
- Share dementia risk reduction resources on topics including including smoking cessation.
- Disseminate the free, evidence-informed Dementia Self-Management Guidebook to communities statewide.
W
Build a Diverse & Skilled Workforce
Grow the knowledge and skills of professionals, volunteers, and community members who support brain health across the life course.
- Offer Dementia Friends Information Sessions and Dementia Friends Champion Trainings, with monthly Champion huddles for ongoing support.
- Provide hands-on technical assistance to every Dementia Friendly Nevada Community Group.
- Partner with the International Association for Indigenous Aging to reach Indigenous people through Dementia Friends for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.
M
Measure, Evaluate & Utilize Data
Use data and evaluation to guide programs, demonstrate impact, and direct resources to the communities that need them most.
- Maintain a goal and implementation plan for each self-sustaining Community Group, aligned to Nevada State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.
- Track outcomes and report progress to state & federal funders monthly and quarterly.
- Apply what we learn to strengthen programs and advance health equity across rural, tribal, and underserved Nevada.

Get Involved

Help Build Nevada’s Dementia Infrastructure

BOLD is a community effort. Whether you want to join a local Dementia Friendly Nevada Community Group, become a Dementia Friend or a Dementia Friends Champion, or bring brain health resources to your family and neighborhood, there is a place for you in the movement.