The death of Hollywood actor Gene Hackman raises important questions about the predicament family caregivers face. Andrea Cohen, board chair of the Caregiver Action Network, and Anne Tumlinson, founder and CEO of ATI Advisory and founder of the family caregiver group Daughterhood, talked to McKnight’s Home Care about the lessons home care and family caregivers can learn from this story. They also shared their views on how home care providers can best serve family caregivers and, in doing so, improve patient outcomes and their business models.
Gene Hackman’s death offers a vivid example of the choices older adults and their family caregivers need to consider such as where to live and how to develop a network of support, Andrea Cohen, board chair of the Caregiver Action Network and founder of HouseWorks, said. Home care can play a role in these conversations, Anne Tumlinson, founder and CEO of ATI Advisory and founder of the family caregiver group Daughterhood, said. Home care must treat family caregivers as one of their key stakeholders, along with the client and employee, Cohen said. When she started HouseWorks, a personal care company, family caregivers were invisible. No longer. Family caregiver training is much better than it used to be. Public policy also has shifted so that, through the new GUIDE Model, Medicare now recognizes the important role that family caregivers of loved ones with dementia face, Tumlinson said. Going forward, home care companies need to be strategic and provide a range of services, such as home modifications, for their clients. Tumlinson agreed. The most successful home-based care models are interdisciplinary and scalable, she said. And they must be data-driven, Cohen added. Providing for family caregivers is essential. Taking care of them helps to solve problems for the hospital and healthcare plan and other parts of the healthcare system.
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