Pathways of Care: Caregiver Coaching
Developing a pathway approach utilizing the Caregiver Coach Model to enhance the delivery of care to people suffering from chronic diseases and their family caregivers.
Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging®, Inc.
Mankato, Minnesota
507-389-8866
www.rndc.org
The vast majority of care (92 percent) needed by older people in Minnesota is provided by family caregivers. An estimated 500,000 Minnesotans age 18 and over provide unpaid help for older adults and adults with disabilities. For every 1 percent decline in family caregiving in Minnesota, it costs the public sector an additional $30 million per year.
The integration of the Caregiver Coach position within the Waseca Medical Center-Mayo Health System has had a “systems change” effect in the way this rural medical center provides services to care-giving families. The network of care between the caregiver and care receiver, physician, Caregiver Coach, community based agencies, and families has resulted in a reduction in caregiver stress, identification of supportive services for families, and strengthened resiliency of the caregiver’s support network.
Two additional clinics are duplicating the Caregiver Coach model and several others in more rural parts of the region are seeking resources to begin implementation.
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