Johnson & Johnson/Rosalynn Carter Institute Caregivers Program

Johnson & Johnson / RCI 2007-2008 Awards Announced

According to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the United States is facing a caregiving crisis that has far-reaching consequences for every American. In a recent interview, Mrs. Carter said, “The number of individuals in our society requiring personal assistance due to ill health, chronic conditions and disabilities is at an historic level and growing. But, the number of individuals available and trained to provide this assistance (caregivers) has not kept pace with the need. As the ratio of individuals with caregiving needs to both paid and family caregivers continues to escalate, the strains on the health of caregivers and on the nation’s economy are becoming apparent and will only escalate if we do not act now.”

In an attempt to find solutions to this crisis, Johnson & Johnson, through its partnership with the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI), recently funded five innovative partnerships between researchers and practitioners working to provide effective caregiver supports.

Johnson & Johnson and the RCI realize that many interventions with proven positive outcomes for caregivers have already been developed, but most have not been translated into programs at the community level – programs that really help the caregivers. Johnson & Johnson and RCI will focus on bridging that gap.

According to Joanne Fillweber, Manager of Corporate Contributions and Medical Affairs for Johnson & Johnson, “What is different about our awards this year is that we are focused on changing the way community agencies do business. We are rewarding partnerships that take the most effective programs for family caregivers and build them into larger, ongoing systems of care. In this way, we believe we can establish permanent supports for family caregivers, who are the backbone of long-term care.”

The 2007 grant awardees are:

· Fox Rehabilitation P. C. - Cherry Hill, New Jersey – Occupational Therapists (OT), whose services are reimbursable under Medicare, will be trained to assess the needs and concerns of family caregivers in addition to the cognitive and functional capabilities of the person with dementia.

· Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging - Calera, Alabama – Staff from the Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging will be trained to implement components of the REACH II intervention (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health), one of the most highly effective and widely tested interventions for family caregivers. The ultimate goal is to make REACH interventions available in every community throughout the state through its network of Area Agencies on Aging.

· Scott & White Memorial Hospital - Temple, Texas – This project will bridge the gap between hospital and community for family caregivers by training hospital discharge planning nurses and staff from the Area Agency on Aging to complete a needs assessment and develop a program of REACH II interventions for caregivers of individuals with dementia being discharged from the hospital.

· Fletcher Allen Healthcare – Burlington, Vermont – This program will establish the NYU Caregiver Intervention (NYUCI) as part of the services of a major, regional Primary Care Physician’s office. In this way, rural caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease can receive the support they need as part of their normal medical visits.

· Metropolitan Jewish Health System – Brooklyn, New York – This program will evaluate caregiver counseling as a plan benefit under Medicaid managed Long-Term Care, (MLTC), an important and emerging strategy of Medicaid Programs nationwide. Immigrants with limited English language skills who are caring for medically complex adults will be provided the NYU Caregiver Intervention (NYUCI) as part of managed care.

All of the 2007 grantees are implementing evidence-based programs of support for family caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Recent statistics report that Medicare expenditures for treatment of Alzheimer's disease will increase to $400 billion annually within the next 20 years. Research has proven that the demands of caring for a person with this insidious disease are profound. A recent study found that a third of family caregivers of persons with dementia are suffering from depression.

“Those who are caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease have to be supported so that their health and the health of their loved one is not compromised,” said Laura J. Bauer, Director of the J&J/RCI Caregivers Program. “By caring for their loved one at home, these family caregivers are saving our health care system millions of dollars annually. It is imperative that they have access to the most effective interventions.” In future years, the J&J/RCI Caregivers Program plans to support evidence based caregiver interventions for other conditions, such as stroke and cancer.

Richard C. Birkel, Executive Director of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, believes that public-private partnerships such as the Johnson & Johnson/Rosalynn Carter Institute Caregivers Program, are critical. “To address this country’s caregiving crisis all sectors of society must come together to develop solutions. Johnson and Johnson is showing what the best corporations in America can do to help. The aim of this program is to assure that family caregivers receive the interventions that can reduce harm, injury, and burden that is associated with caring for individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia”.

Since 2001, the J&J/RCI Caregivers Program has impacted the lives of over 75,000 individuals through its funding of community collaborations that support caregivers. This partnership builds on the RCI’s twenty years of advocacy for caregivers and on the credo of Johnson & Johnson to be “responsible to the communities in which we live and work” and “encourage…better health and education.”

This year marks the 20^th Anniversary of the RCI, which was established in 1987 on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) in Americus, Georgia. The RCI was formed in honor of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, an alumna of GSW, to enhance her long-standing commitments to human development and mental health. RCI works to establish local, state and national partnerships committed to building more effective long-term care systems and providing greater recognition and support for America's caregivers.

The RCI’s Anniversary will be celebrated at the First National Conference on Evidence-Based Interventions in Caregiving on October 25 and 26^th, 2007 at GSW. The conference, sponsored by Johnson and Johnson, will bring together caregivers, researchers, administrators, advocates and policy makers and feature major presentations on building a system of long-term, family and community care that employs evidence-based practice.