Caring for Caregivers

By Dana Spector, Associate Managing Editor, AHC Media

Shorter hospital stays and fewer available services increasingly transfer the provision of care to patients and their families. The proposed CMS CoPs for discharge planning add additional expectations for the case manager and social worker as it relates to family caregivers. Case managers and social workers will be required to assess the capability and availability of the family caregiver as part of the discharge planning evaluation process. The challenge for overburdened case managers and social workers is to create a hard-wired and streamlined process for evaluating the role of the family caregiver where applicable.

On June 22, AHC Media's live webinar "Family Caregivers & Your Case Management Program" will teach attendees techniques for assessing the family caregiver as well as strategies to support caregivers in their role. We'll discuss the evaluation process and how to incorporate it into the assessment for discharge planning, and attendees will receive tools for effective and efficient assessments processes. Additionally, we'll review the elements to be included for educating and preparing family caregivers for their roles after discharge. For more information about this educational session and to register, please click here.