The invisible second patient

Delaney Lockwood, a fourth-year student at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, designed an emotional resilience program for care partners of people with dementia

Seven million.

That is how many Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and according to the Alzheimer’s Association, that number will increase to almost 14 million by 2060.

And the alarming statistics don’t stop there – one in three older adults dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, Alzheimer’s kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, and 12 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

(L-R) Jenay Beer and Lisa Renzi-Hammond meet with Mel Garber, a retired UGA employee whose wife, Barbara Bankston, was one of the first patients at the Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center. The paintings on the wall behind them were done by Barbara and are on loan from the family.

Alzheimer’s is something that Delaney Lockwood, a fourth-year student at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, holds close to her heart. Her grandfather battled Parkinson’s Disease for almost 20 years and developed dementia as his disease progressed, and she watched as he received loving care from family members.

“I admired my grandma and mom as they cared for my grandfather with grace, patience, compassion, and resilience,” she said.

In 2024, Lockwood was named a Gold Foundation Student Fellow and received $3,000 to work on a chosen research project. For her project, Lockwood decided to commit her research to those affected by Alzheimer’s but often forgotten – the care partners.

“Care partners face immense challenges and stressors and are often overlooked by the healthcare system,” said Lockwood. “This is especially true for care partners of people living with dementia, as their levels of anxiety, depression, and physical health challenges are even higher than those of care partners of other chronic conditions.”

With funds from the Gold Foundation, Lockwood set out to design and implement an emotional resilience program for care partners of people with dementia at a local support group led by the UGA CARE Center at the College of Public Health.

Lockwood was eager to work alongside those at the CARE Center.

“Interdisciplinary care in medicine is incredibly important,” Lockwood said. “When experts such as neuroscientists, social workers, and clinicians come together to share ideas, we can create well-rounded support networks for community members.”

Dr. Sarah Saint Hamilton, the director of social support services at the CARE Center, said the center’s approach to dementia is comprehensive and community-focused. The center provides patients with an interdisciplinary diagnostic workup at its location on the UGA Health Sciences Campus, social support and education for caregivers, and a brain health initiative for rural communities.

“The CARE Center team is passionate about providing a new pathway to dementia education and diagnosis, and a pathway built upon scientific evidence, passion, collaboration, and sincerity,” said Saint Hamilton.

Lockwood began her research project by observing a support group for caregivers led by Saint Hamilton at the CARE Center.

“A couple of caregivers mentioned that they enjoyed learning breathing exercises and wanted to incorporate meditations in their future support group sessions,” said Lockwood.

From that feedback, Lockwood realized she could combine her Alzheimer’s research with her passion for well-being, so she recruited Dr. Cathy Snapp, campus director of behavioral health at the Medical Partnership, to assist in the project.

Snapp said Lockwood’s desire to help those in the Alzheimer’s community aligns with her benevolent nature.

Delaney Lockwood

“I have watched with awe and inspiration at the many empowering and purposeful events Delaney initiates, plans, develops, and implements for the health and well-being of others,” said Snapp. “I have witnessed firsthand her extraordinary commitment to the heart of medicine and being the change we want to see as a healer in healthcare.”

Saint Hamilton also echoed Lockwood’s thoughts on why this project was important.

“Caregivers are often referred to as the invisible second patient because their health and well-being tend to suffer from the intense and all-consuming care they provide,” said Saint Hamilton. “Caregivers often put their own needs on hold indefinitely because they seem less important and less urgent when compared to the overwhelming medical condition that their person is experiencing. That mindset and shifting of priorities might be feasible during a short-term crisis, but it becomes unsustainable and leads to burnout over the potentially decade-long trajectory of dementia care.”

Along with Saint Hamilton and Snapp, Lockwood worked to design an emotional resilience program for care partners of people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias and put the project into action at the CARE Center.

The Project

Lockwood began her sessions in the summer of 2024, and the first meeting focused on emotional regulation. Each caregiver used a strengths inventory to determine what personal strengths they identified within themselves. They then discussed when to adapt and respond to a challenging situation. After this, Lockwood showed the participants how to use the Emotional Guidance Scale and engage in heart-focused breathing.

During the second session, the group discussed how overall well-being can be impacted by sleep, nutrition, physical activity, relationships, and thoughts/emotions. Lockwood also guided caregivers in creating individual micro-goals in each of these areas.

The final session reviewed all the tools the caregivers had received and a check-in on their micro-goals. Lockwood said caregivers gave feedback that the program improved their well-being, helped them feel more in touch with their emotions, and provided them with tools and practices they plan to use in the future.

“The feedback that Delaney got from those in the initial in-person group has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Saint Hamilton. “Caregivers especially seemed to resonate with the idea that emotional regulation isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Everyone has unique strengths they can tap into during times of distress. For instance, forcing yourself to be patient if it’s not a natural strength means trying to regulate with your weakest skill, rather than adapting one of your innate strengths to the situation.”

Closing thoughts from caregivers included:

“This is the first time that I have ever come into this support group and felt peaceful.”

“We tend to put ourselves down, but I need to focus on the good I do instead.”

“It made me feel a little bit better, even though all the same problems are still there. It made me feel a little bit of a different perspective.”

Lockwood presenting her research at a conference

“I have changed my perspective on life.”

The Path Forward

But Lockwood did not stop at the conclusion of the sessions in the summer of 2024. She took the research and turned the sessions into an online program for her Master of Public Health capstone, which she completed in Spring 2025.

“Caregivers often have very busy schedules, which makes it difficult to attend in-person support sessions,” said Lockwood. “With the online program, they can access the resiliency training at a time and place that works best for their schedule.”

Lockwood said she hopes this program helps care partners even beyond Alzheimer’s – fellow Medical Partnership students have applied these techniques to those living with substance abuse and to parents of children with autism and ADHD.

Lockwood is hoping to turn her passion for helping those affected by Alzheimer’s into even more – she strives to become a neurologist and has applied to neurology residencies across the country. She also said this research project helped her develop future career aspirations.

“I hope to work towards a more holistic system that provides better support networks for caregivers,” said Lockwood. “While programs such as this emotional resilience program can be impactful for care partners’ well-being, it does place an additional level of responsibility on the care partner. In the long term, we need more than community programs and strong advocacy for systemic-level policy and culture changes to address many of the challenges and barriers that care partners face. In my career as a physician, I will advocate for these changes. I am deeply grateful to the Gold Foundation for supporting me in my early stages of enriching caregiver support.”

To view the online sessions, visit here.