Wednesday, December 03, 2008
NEWS
RCI Seeks Advocacy Support from CO-AGE
Amy Tribble, RCI’s Director of State Initiatives, will address the July 10 meeting of the Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly (CO-AGE). CO-AGE is convened by the Georgia Council on Aging and provides a forum for advocates to identify and address the concerns of older Georgians. CO-AGE is a diverse coalition, consisting of nearly 300 consumers, providers and associations throughout the state.
At the meeting, the RCI will make a presentation to CO-AGE, requesting that they select funding for family caregiver education as their budget priority for the upcoming session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Over the past several months, the RCI has been conducting train-the-trainer sessions (Powerful Tools for Caregivers; and The Care Transitions Intervention) in conjunction with the CARE-NETs and other partners. Additionally, plans are underway for a fall training session of Savvy Caregiver,whichwill be offered directly to caregivers. Large turnout and interest in these sessions demonstrates the real interest in Georgia in more effectively serving caregivers with the best available education and support.
While these sessions are currently funded in part by a grant from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, additional resources are needed to assure that the best training will be required to provide this kind of training into the future. This budget item would provide the additional funding necessary for the CARE-NETs to organize and provide evidence-based training throughout the state of Georgia.