Caregiver Support and Well-Being Priority Project - Central East ...

Provincial Recommendations:1. Advocate for the Provision of financial assistance programs/tax incentives to minimize the excessivefinancial burden on caregivers, separate from the support for the care receiver.2. Advocate for the Provision of a social assistance model with an income allowance so that becoming acaregiver does not result in a poverty risk. xlvi3. Advocate for provincial incentives to encourage organizations to create flexible workplaceenvironments that respect care giving obligations. xlvii4. Advocate for the implementation of a provincially supported program of financial assistance orequipment credits for caregivers.Care PlanningDefinitionThe needs of caregivers are addressed when developing a plan of care.Components• Needs Assessments:Individualized assessment of caregivers’ support needs that will help to ensure the caregivers’ healthand well being.• Support Planning:Development of a service plan that meets caregivers’ individual support needs and includescoordination of services and regular monitoring to reflect caregivers’ changing needs.• Navigation Support:Assistance with linking to organizations that provide services which make a positive contribution tocaregivers’ health and wellbeing.Findings1. Caregivers have difficulty navigating the system. Although many are willing and able to find supportand assistance, they often don’t know where to begin.2. Doctors/primary care needs to be more aware of the needs of the caregiver.3. There are very few formal programs which acknowledge the caregiver as a separate care receiverwith distinct needs.4. Many organizations that provide support do not have a separate process to look at the needs ofcaregivers.5. Three types of caregiver assessment tools were reviewed – Caregiver Burden Scale xlviii , CaregiverResiliency Scale xlix and C.A.R.E. Tool. l6. There is not a standard assessment process which is utilized by organizations that support the clientand caregiver.7. Organizations often need support to find resources for their caregivers.RecommendationsCE LHIN Recommendations:1. Implement the useable, integrated Caregiver Support Centre service delivery model summarized inthis document which provides a centralized point of access for all caregiver support needs.2. Facilitate collaboration with the currently available navigational resources and expertise (i.e. 310CCAC database, Information Centres database.) to locate specific resources presently available tomeet the needs of caregivers.23