ABOUT RCI

Winner of the 2007 Rosalynn Carter

Leadership in Caregiving Award

The Alabama REACH Intervention Project

The Alabama Department of Senior Services and
University of Alabama’s Center for Mental Health and Aging.

Alabama’s REACH Intervention Project, funded by the Administration on Aging, was implemented in four pilot regions of Alabama with two main goals - to develop and expand affordable, accessible, and culturally appropriate evidence-based service innovations to improve available services to support people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers; and to advance improvements in Alabama’s overall system of care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and improve integration of the preferences and needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers into Alabama’s long term care system and home and community based services.

The Alabama Department of Senior Services partnered with the University of Alabama’s Center for Mental Health and Aging, directed by Dr. Louis Burgio, one of the original REACH investigators. The State of Alabama made monumental advancements through this initiative, by improving Caregiver and Care recipient well-being, promoting the REACH intervention statewide, engaging active volunteerism, and proving the effectiveness of the REACH intervention in meeting the needs of people living with Alzheimer’s disease.

The success of this pilot project led to a statewide REACH Training Conference – the first step in taking the project to the next level. By training case managers and Alabama Cares Program Coordinators at all 13 AAA’s across the state, the Alabama Department of Senior Services has expanded the REACH intervention to all regions of Alabama within the context of the National Family Caregivers Support Program.

UPDATE
Rosalynn Carter Leadership in Caregiving Award Visits Alabama State Capitol
Alabama's Department of Senior Services Receives Award in Governor's Office.

Laura Granberry, Director of National Initiatives, traveled to Montgomery, Alabama in April, 2008 to present the Rosalynn Carter Leadership in Caregiving Award to the Alabama Department of Senior Services. The presentation was made to Commissioner Irene Collins, Executive Director of the Department, and Governor Bob Riley.
See photos and quotes from the presentation and press conference in Governor's Office

Read about the Finalists for the 2007 Rosalynn Carter Leadership in Caregiving Award.