Department of Veterans Affairs Caregiver Support Program Overview

Department of Veterans Affairs Caregiver Support Program Overview

Meg Kabat, LCSW-‐C, CCM Ac1ng Na1onal Director, Caregiver Support Program Care Management and Social Work Services Department of Veterans Affairs October 24, 2014

VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Caregiver Support Program

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Mission Statement: To promote the health and well-‐being of family Caregivers who care for our na:on’s Veterans, through educa:on, resources, support, and services.

–  Allow the most vulnerable Veterans to remain at home in the community

–  Address specific needs of Family Caregivers with a menu of programs and services

–  Promote Veteran & Caregiver health and well-‐being –  Reduce isola1on with professional & peer support –  Sensi1ze health care providers to the role of the family Caregiver


Menu of VA Services

In-‐Home Care Skilled Nursing Home Health Aide Home Based Primary Care Veteran Directed Home & Community Based Care

Respite Care Services to Address Mobility Issues

Equipment Home Modifica1on Automobile Modifica1on

EducaEon and Training Financial Support

Aid and APendance Caregiver S1pend (Post 9-‐11)

InformaEon and Referral Caregiver Web site: www.caregiver.va.gov Caregiver Support Line: 1-‐855-‐260-‐3274

Caregiver Support Caregiver Support Coordinators Peer Mentoring Program Building BePer CaregiversTM

Spouse Telephone Support REACH VA Support Groups

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Caregiver Outreach

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Caregiver Support Line •  More than 150,000 calls received •  Averaging 200 calls per day

Caregiver Web site •  List serve members = 41,000+ •  Average visits per day = 900 •  Pages viewed per visits = 3

www.caregiver.va.gov


Caregiver Education, Training, and Support Expanding Evidence-Based Interventions & Best Practices

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REACH VA

–  Designed to provide educa1on support, and teach problem-‐solving for Caregivers of Veterans with Alzheimer’s Disease/demen1a

–  Currently being expanded to MS, Mental Health, and SCI/D

Spouse /Caregiver Telephone Support –  Groups of Post 9/11 spouses meet with a VA clinician to learn problem solving

skills, resiliency training, and to receive support –  Currently being expanding to broader audience

Building BeWer CaregiversTM

–  An interac1ve, web based workshop developed by Stanford University and provided in partnership with the Na1onal Council on Aging (NCoA)


Caregiver Education, Training, and Support (Contd.)

Peer Support Mentoring Program –  New Caregivers are matched to more experienced Caregivers

Self-‐Care Courses –  4 Face to Face Classes in Spanish and English:

•  Stress Management •  Taking Care of Yourself •  Problem Solving and Effec1ve Communica1on •  U1lizing Technology

–  More than 1,200 Caregivers have par1cipated at more than 50 sites

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Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers – Program Overview

•  Clinical Program, providing the following addi1onal services directly to Family Caregivers of eligible Veterans injured in the line of duty on or afer September 11, 2001: –  S1pend –  Enrollment in CHAMPVA –  Mental Health –  Beneficiary Travel –  Educa1on and Training –  Addi1onal respite

•  Program par1cipa1on must: –  Be in the clinical best interest of the Veteran –  Support the Veteran’s progress in treatment

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Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers - Eligibility Criteria

Veteran or Servicemember undergoing medical discharge incurred or aggravated a serious injury in the line of duty on or afer September 11, 2001 (includes Trauma1c Brain Injury, psychological trauma or other mental disorders).

and

Veteran or Servicemember requires on-‐going assistance from a Caregiver for a minimum of 6 months to:

1.  Assist with the management of personal care func1ons required in everyday living; 2.  Significantly enhance the Veteran’s or Servicemember’s ability to live at home

safely; 3.  Support the Veteran or Servicemember’s poten1al progress in rehab.

**Note: there are addi1onal criteria beyond what is listed here.

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Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers – Current Data*

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•  Applica1ons filed: 36,700

•  Par1cipa1ng Caregivers/Veterans: 17,800 –  Tier 3 – 6,700 (s1pend na1onal average $2,330 per month) –  Tier 2 – 6,700 (s1pend na1onal average $1,510 per month) –  Tier 1 – 4,400 (s1pend na1onal average $630 per month)

•  New Healthcare Coverage enrollees: 4,600

•  Caregiver Demographics: –  Gender: 91% women –  Rela1onship: spouses (77%), parents (12%) –  Age: 26-‐40 yrs old (53%), 41-‐64 years old (35%)

*Data current as of September 30, 2014


Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers Caregiver Education and Training

Standardized Core Curriculum

•  Developed in collabora1on with Easter Seals •  In-‐person, workbook/DVD, or web-‐based •  Includes modules on:

Caregiver Self-‐Care Home Safety Basic Caregiver Skills (vital signs, etc) Providing Personal Care Managing Challenging Behaviors Resources (legal, financial, VA, community, advocacy)

Training Data Update: •  More than 22,600 Family Caregivers have completed training to date

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Program Evaluation

VA’s Office of the Actuary reviewed the healthcare u1liza1on of a cohort of nearly 9,000 Veterans par1cipa1ng in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers was reviewed during the six months before par1cipa1ng and during the first six months of par1cipa1on.

–  Preliminary findings demonstrate: •  An average decrease of 30% in inpa1ent admissions •  A 2.5-‐day average reduc1on in the number of days spent in the hospital if the eligible Veteran was hospitalized

•  A 5% average decrease in the number of outpa1ent visits per month for eligible Veterans

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Launch of CSP’s Caregiver Partnered Evaluation Center

Program Launch: June 1, 2014

•  Aim 1: Assess the impact of the Comprehensive Program on the health and well-‐being of Veterans by examining health care encounters expected to be sensi1ve to Caregiver support (poten1ally avoidable u1liza1on).

•  Aim 2: Assess the impacts of the Comprehensive Program on the health and well-‐being of Primary Family Caregivers.

•  Aim 3: Understand how Caregivers use and value components of the Comprehensive Program and the General Program.

•  Aim 4: Generate a detailed profile of the costs and services provided under the Comprehensive Program and the General Program.


Questions?

Meg Kabat, LCSW-‐C, CCM Ac1ng Na1onal Director, Caregiver Support Program

Department of Veterans Affairs 202-‐461-‐6072

[email protected]

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Documents

Department of Veterans Affairs Caregiver Support Program Overview