Mobile Memory Café Educates Rural Montana on Memory Loss
The Mobile Memory Café is an innovative traveling program whichthat over comes geographic and logistical barriers to offering a range of educational materials, prevention strategies, and practical resources regarding memory loss to those living in rural Montana.
University of Montana Extension, Mobile Memory Café - Montana
In the spring of 2024, using a borrowed camper, Dr. Daniel Koltz started a pilot program with a mobile health unit that traveled to rural communities across Montana. A program of Montana State University’s Extension, the Mobile Memory Café is an innovative, traveling initiative designed to bring essential services and resources to rural communities in Montana. The program overcomes geographic and logistical barriers through mobile format, ensuring that even the most remote communities can access vital information, resources, and support.
This project aims to enhance the lives of individuals living with memory loss by offering a range of educational materials, prevention strategies, and practical resources. This outreach opportunity is for people across their lifespans, beginning with teaching children how to live a healthy lifestyle for long-term brain health. In addition, it also provides much-needed support to caregivers through workshops, information, and community-building activities. The Mobile Memory Café effectively creates local networks of care where community members and healthcare professionals collaborate to improve the quality of life for those impacted by dementia and other cognitive conditions.
After the successful pilot, Dr. Koltz was anxious to continue and expand the work being done. The goal is to have the Mobile Memory Café engage 1,000 rural Montanans in over 30 counties each year. To reach these numbers it became apparent that a program manager was needed. The Program Manager’s responsibilities will include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Mobile Memory Café, event scheduling, community engagement, and logistics.
The JTMF Foundation was able to fully fund this new position for 2025 and is covering 75% of the costs in 2026. We’re excited to help the Mobile Memory Café, provide it’s initiative services dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals living with memory loss and their caregivers in rural Montana.
