OREGON CAREGIVER TRAINING

OREGON CAREGIVER TRAINING

WORK GROUP REPORT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was written by the Oregon Caregiver Training Workgroup, a collaborative project of the Governor's Commission on Senior Services and

the Oregon Disabilities Commission. Thank you to the many stakeholders who provided input, analysis, content

and hard work in creating this report. We specifically thank the Oregon Department of Human Services, Aging and People with Disabilities for

providing staff support. Published June 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

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Key Recommendations

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Introduction

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Background and Process

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Analysis of Existing Caregiver Trainings in Oregon

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Analysis

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Recommendations

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Appendix

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OREGON CAREGIVER TRAINING WORK GROUP REPORT

Executive Summary

Oregon's Health Care Transformation effort is focused on the "Triple Aim" of better care, better health, and lower costs. Caregiving is emerging as a risk factor for poor health and higher costs, and interventions exist to reduce the potential negative health impact on caregivers while improving the quality of care provided to the person or people for whom they are caring.

Many Oregonians require another person to provide daily care and help with activities a majority of us take for granted, such as eating, bathing, and getting dressed. The people receiving care may require it for a few months, a few years, or a lifetime, for many reasons (such as an injury, a physical disability, or a progressive disease). According to research by AARP, each year, over 460,000 unpaid caregivers in Oregon provide about $5.5 billion worth of care.1

The impact of caregiving on a caregiver is tremendous -- physically, mentally, and financially. The most recent data from the Alzheimer's Association shows that each year in Oregon, unpaid caregivers for people with dementia have $100 million in higher health care costs.2 Professional caregivers also face significant job stress in positions that are not well paid, leading to a high rate of job turnover, which is detrimental to the people receiving care.

Training can help improve care, reduce health care costs, improve the health of caregivers, and reduce turnover of professionals. Unfortunately, caregivers face barriers that prevent them from accessing beneficial education and training. The goal of this report is to make recommendations to ensure all caregivers in Oregon who can benefit from training are able to receive it. A valuable byproduct of the work group that wrote this report was the creation of a catalog of trainings that might be useful to many individuals, organizations, and agencies when looking for training -- or when establishing public policy in regard to improving long-term care in Oregon.

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Key Recommendations

? Develop trainings to address unmet needs o Businesses and nonprofits that provide trainings for caregivers should consider this list as a jumpingoff point for the development of trainings that meet the unmet need.. o Government granting bodies, such as the Innovations Fund board, might want to use this list as a consideration for their grant process.

? Increase access to Oregon Home Care Commission trainings o The Oregon Home Care Commission should begin a process to determine how to make its trainings more available to the general public while ensuring home-care and personal-support workers have full access to all required trainings.

? More aggressive promotion of existing trainings o The ADRC should be promoted as the central place for Oregonians to find trainings. In addition, every training provider should be listed in the ADRC's resource database. o Hospitals, health systems, and medical professionals should be prepared to provide information about what training would be useful, as well as where to find it.

? Expand access to trainings statewide o Increase the focus on developing Web-based trainings for those with Internet access. o Respite programs need to be developed and expanded, including a revived Lifespan Respite Program. o Investigate the use of public-access television and cable on-demand programming to air training videos.

? Ensure family caregivers are informed about caregiving and how to choose a useful training. o Develop a simple brochure that lists what a caregiver might need help with and what to consider when looking for training. This brochure should be made available in all medical offices, ADRCs, senior and community centers, libraries, and any other relevant locations, and it should be included in any packet of information medical providers give families following a diagnosis that may lead to someone serving as a family caregiver.

These recommendations are intended to be doable actions that will lead to a greater level of training of caregivers in Oregon. Some need to be implemented by nonprofits, some by government agencies, and some by businesses, and others might require legislative action. By following these recommendations, we assert that the quality of caregiving will improve in Oregon, caregivers' lives will improve, and health care costs of caregivers will decline.

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