Canary Health’s caregiver support program, Building Better Caregivers, is now available through the CalGrows workforce training and development program. Registration is open for courses and support programs available through CalGrows for family caregivers and direct care workers caring for older adults and people with disabilities in California.
“As the population ages, the current shortage of healthcare workers will continue to grow largely to be filled by family caregivers. Now more than ever we need to honor, recognize, and support caregivers for being the backbone of our healthcare system,” says Neal Kaufman, MD, MPH, founder and chairman of the board, Canary Health. “The CalGrows initiative strongly aligns with the founding principles of Building Better Caregivers, and both the 2022 Raise Family Care Act and the recent executive order from the Biden Administration to support family caregivers.”
The Building Better Caregivers program is an evidence-based, six-week, digital, peer-to-peer education and support program to help caregivers improve their care recipients’ outcomes as well as their own. Building Better Caregivers is on the list of Best Practice Caregiving for family caregivers certified by the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging and the Family Caregiving Alliance.
“By participating in Building Better Caregivers,” Kaufman continues, “caregivers have improved their ability to support their care recipients who are struggling with chronic health and/or mental health conditions. They have developed increased confidence to accomplish goals important to their own health and to their roles as caregivers, and have reduced their stress, improved their health behaviors, and improved outcomes for their care partners. We’re proud to be a CalGrows grant recipient, and to be able to support more caregivers across the state of California.”
Canary Health is one of 76 organizations in California that received a grant through the CalGrows Innovation Fund earlier this year. Grants were awarded to diverse organizations with innovative ideas to offer training and incentives for the direct care Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) workforce and unpaid family and friend caregivers.
CalGrows seeks to help build individual skill sets and growth opportunities, helping to retain skilled, experienced caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities. Direct care workers can also receive up to $6,000 in financial incentives and career pathway development benefits. Free training, along with personalized coaching, is available for paid direct care workers, HCBS caregivers, and unpaid family and friend caregivers through the CalGrows website at www.calgrows.org. Workshops from Canary Health are available online, along with courses from other training providers, and are searchable by topic, location, language, and incentive.
