NYS Family Caregiver Council March 6, 2008, 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Crowne Plaza Hotel - Albany, New York
Meeting Notes:
Director Burgess and Council Chair Cynthia Fountain welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Long Term Care Council Assessment of Caregiver Support Services Survey
Gail Koser gave a brief overview of activities that will assist the Family Caregiver Council to evaluate the services that are available to caregivers and what polices/practices affect caregivers in New York State. These activities include two surveys and Town Hall meetings that will increase the information and data about caregiver support services that will be available to the Council. Each of these activities will be discussed as part of the meeting agenda. Gail focused on working with Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center (FLGEC) to design a survey tool to assess the support services available to caregivers. This survey will be administered to the NY Connects Long Term Care Councils. These Councils are comprised of Area Agency on Aging Directors, local Department of Social Services Directors, consumers, caregivers, health care professionals, and aging and health providers in the community who have an understanding of the county's long-term care system and an interest in improving the system. The survey will be conducted over the summer months and FLGEC will prepare a report to the Family Caregiver Council in September. Members of the Council were invited to volunteer to be part of a short-term work group comprised of representatives from NY Connects, NYSOFA staff and Family Caregiver Council and the FLGEC team. The work group will provide general input on all phases of the assessment project and will meet several times via conference call.
Rensselaer Caregiver Town Hall Meeting
Gail Myers and Council members Rose Golden, Delilah Reyes and Renee Benson provided feedback on the first Family Caregiver Council sponsored Town Hall Meeting in Rensselaer.
Caregiver Awareness Campaign
The Mountain View Group gave a presentation on ideas for a Caregiver Awareness Campaign. Council members had the opportunity to discuss the ideas in small groups over lunch and Gail Myers facilitated a full group discussion after lunch. Some of the comments from the group were:
- Make clear that the services are for caregivers - not care recipients
- Caregivers are the primary audience, not helpful neighbors
- Include harder tasks than picking up medicine, include waiting in the emergency room and wondering how to juggle your work and other family demands, convey the feeling that it is a responsibility that people feel for those they love/care about - a 24/7 message - either doing the tasks or managing the tasks.
- Appeal to those who don't identify with the term caregiver, make sure that the message reflects "she's my mother, of course I'm there for her.I don't think of myself as a caregiver, I'm a daughter/husband/sister/cousin/friend"
- Don't depend on audience being able to read the message - use spoken words not written messages
- Do not use the word "support" since it implies dependence - make a positive image.
- Make the faces reflect the multi-cultural mosaic of NY
- Make the messages reflect grandparents, parents of child with special needs, spouse/partner of an older person.
- Make sure that access to services are not identified solely with NYS Office for the Aging.
- Do not use ICARENY for the tag line since it sounds like Eye Care. Suggestion to use WeCareNY
Choices for a slogan that were identified in the presentation included:
- Get the support you need, to give them the support they need
- Caregivers need care too
- It takes support to give support
- You care about them. We care about you
- Caring for the caregivers
Council members were invited to volunteer to be part of a smaller work group to achieve consensus on the message theme and a slogan to be used as the tag line for any advertising campaign. The slogan will be incorporated into a written message for stationery, brochures, promotional items, etc. This work group will meet via conference call.
NYSOFA Caregiver Program Survey
I-Hsin Wu gave a an overview of the New York Elder Caregiver Program Survey designed to provide information on the impacts of caregiver support programs provided by New York State Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and ways to improve the programs in order to better serve caregivers. The survey will be administered to caregivers served in the caregiver support programs funded under the Federal Title III E or State-funded Caregiver Resource Center. The data will be provided to the Family Caregiver Council to assist them in evaluating caregiver services.
Alzheimer's Disease Coordinating Council
Tammy Nazarko from the Department of Health gave a presentation on the Coordinating Council for Services Related to Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. Director Burgess jointly chairs the Council with Commissioner Daines of the Department of Health. Council members are experts in the care of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, including medical providers, health care administrators, and representatives from community-based organizations, family caregivers and state agency representatives working collectively to outline issues and propose recommendations related to the identification and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias The Council is charged with the creation of a comprehensive statewide plan to identify, treat and improve service delivery for dementia patients, their families and caregivers. Eight public forums will be held around the state so that the Council can hear from people affected by Alzheimer's disease, care providers, researchers and the public to provide information and guidance.
Future Meetings
Karen Iovino reviewed a draft timeline of Family Caregiver Council activities.
Meetings were scheduled for:
May 29 - Thursday
September 25 - Thursday
November 12 - Wednesday
March 12, 2009 - Thursday