For Professionals

Discharge Planning Resources

Hospital Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the Process

CMS Tip Sheet for Providers (PDF)Medicare may pay for certain types of caregiver education when provided as part of a patient’s medically necessary face-to-face visit. For example, caregiver support can in some cases be billed under Medicare Part B as part of the counseling and coordination of care services provided during a patient visit as long as it directly involves the patient and is medically necessary. Medicaid coverage policies for these services vary by state, so check with your Medicaid state agency for guidance.

CMS Discharge Planning Tip Sheet (PDF)During a patient stay in a hospital, nursing home, or other health care setting, the staff will work with you to plan for the patient discharge. The patient and their caregiver are important members of the planning team. This is a checklist of important things to assist caregivers with a safe discharge.

Caregiver Programs

Community Resource Guide Template (PDF)
This training manual is designed for use by community organizations that have a administrative and program structure in place and a system for recruiting, screening, training and supporting volunteers, and have or are ready to establish a program for training volunteer caregivers or older adults.

Creating a Community of Caring: Handbook of Community Activities to Support the Caregiver (PDF) 
The handbook is organized in a way that allows each local league to make informed decisions about their approach, to lay the groundwork for successful projects and to implement programs that will make a contribution to their neighbors and friends.

Assessing Family Caregiver Needs: Policy and Practice Considerations
Caregiver assessment is a systematic process of gathering information about a caregiver situation to identify the specific problems, needs, strengths, and resources of the family caregiver, as well as the ability of the caregiver to contribute to the needs of the care recipient. Read here more about policy and Practice Considerations.

Mental & Behavioral Health for Caregivers

APA’s Family Caregiver Briefcase for Psychologists
www.apa.org/pi/about/publications/caregivers/index.aspx

The Briefcase is a web-based resource that psychologists can use to assist family caregivers through individual and organizational practice, research, teaching, advocacy and community service. It is also useful for other professionals who work with family caregivers, psychologists facing caregiving challenges within their own families, and caregivers themselves.

Alzheimer’s State Plans

From Plan to Practice: Implementing the National Alzheimer’s Plan in Your State (2014)

The National Alliance for Caregiving and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America were pleased to offer a half-day conference in December 2013, titled From Plan to Practice: Implementing NAPA in Your State. Over 250 webinar participants from more than 39 states and the District of Columbia heard from federal and state policymakers involved in developing comprehensive plans to provide supports and services to people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers. Federal and state experts also provided best caregiver practices, tools, and strategies on how best to implement these action steps in states and

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