Caregivers

The University of California, San Francisco and Northwestern University are testing a program for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's Disease. The program, titled LEAF (Life Enhancing Activities for Family Caregivers) is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, and is designed to help lower stress and support caregivers. Participants must be the primary caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or probable Alzheimer's, be English-speaking, and have access to Wi-Fi.

The CDC has provided a new COVID-19 resource on their website for people with intellectual and development disabilities. This resource was developed by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) to provide individuals with low literacy and their caregivers information on how to stay safe during the pandemic. The virtual resource explains vaccinations, COVID-19 testing, handwashing, mask-wearing and social distancing through videos and visual storytelling.

CMS, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is developing an emergency regulation requiring staff in over 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes to get vaccinated. This new requirement is central to protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents and all staff members. Millions of vaccinations have been administered to residents and staff over the last few months and are shown to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant.

This blog post by Edmondo J. Robinson, M.D., M.B.A., Peter J. Embí, M.D., M.S., Ramanathan Raju, M.D., M.B.A., and Yanling Yu, Ph.D. explores how social determinants of health have led to health inequity during the pandemic. Read the blog post to learn how health literacy and access to technology play a role in bridging the gap in health outcomes.

This editorial, by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and The John A. Hartford Foundation explores how employers and states can support employees with caregiving responsibilities through flexible workplace policies, tools, and resources. The editorial highlights resources from two states participating in CHCS’ Helping States Support Families Caring for an Aging America initiative.

This issue brief presents early findings from the most recent KFF 50-state survey of Medicaid HCBS programs, focusing on state policies adopted in response to the pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on Medicaid HCBS enrollees and providers, and states’ early plans for the new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) 10 percentage point temporary increase in federal Medicaid matching funds for HCBS.

On August 10, 2021, the U.S. Senate introduced the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021. The bill aims to increase transparency, accountability and oversight as well as improve staffing in nursing homes.

Researchers at Emory University Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center are seeking participants for a study on LGBTQ caregivers. The project is intended to help develop a caregiver training program that addresses the obstacles these caregivers face in caring for people with Dementia. The center is seeking individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, are 18 or older, and consider themselves a primary caregiver to complete a 60 minute questionnaire.

CMS Office of Minority Health is recognizing National Immunization Awareness month by providing immunization and vaccine resources on their website. The site houses shareable information about available, low cost vaccines, Medicare coverage for vaccines, COVID-19 resources, and more.

The EngAGED National Resource Center has released this data brief summarizing a survey of organizations within the aging network to see what social engagement programs were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic to older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers.