Caregivers Resource Database Expands

Family Tree of Elder Caregiving

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2003 -- Caregivers-USA.org, a nationwide Internet database that helps family caregivers find local services and agencies is being expanded to make it easier for caregivers to find specific service providers in their community.

"Our experience over the last year has shown that it's not enough to give caregivers a list of local agencies, practitioners and organizations that provide caregiver support," said Harry Wiland and Dale Bell, co-executive producers of the PBS documentary "And Thou Shalt Honor."

As part of the year-long lead-in to the show's airing in October 2002, the producers established an online database of nearly 40,000 community service organizations. Now the data is being reorganized to make it easier for caregivers to select providers within specific service categories.

Initial funding for the database came from the Motion Picture Television Fund, which wanted to provide data that would be useful to those caring for children, spouses and siblings as well as older family members. As a result, much of the chronic care data is now lumped under the "Senior Services" category.

"It's a valid descriptor but it's not nearly specific enough," Wiland and Bell said. "So through research and discussions with service providers and caregivers, we have come up with new categories, each of which in turn has several sub-categories."

The new categories are presented graphically as the "Family Tree of Elder Caregiving." Nominal user fees will finance the expansion.

Main categories, or "branches," of the chronic and elder caregiving section are:

• Residential-care facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and congregate care communities;
• Health care professionals, including geriatric care managers, home health agencies, private duty nurses, therapists and geriatric physicians;
• Home-based services, including home delivered meals, home health agencies, visiting nurse services and in-home therapy services.
• Community-based service, including senior centers, adult day centers and congregate meal programs;
• Legal & financial, including attorneys practicing elder law, financial and tax planning specialists and long-term-care insurance agents;
• Elder care products, including mobility aids, lift and transfer devices, hospital beds, respiratory care devices, etc.
• Productive lifestyle services, including continuing education, travel services, senior centers and senior volunteer programs.
• Spiritual and faith-based programs;
• End-of-life, including hospice, bereavement support and funeral and memorial arrangements.

When caregivers seeking assistance go to the site, they are presented with a graphic of a tree. By clicking on different branches, the caregivers are taken to sections dealing with each of the nine categories. Each section has background information and lists of resources as well as listings of service providers searchable by Zip code and by state.

"Caregivers often assume their roles suddenly and are thrust into a baffling parallel universe that they may feel ill-equipped to handle. Our hope is that our Family Tree of Elder Caregiving will help them identify the services they need and find local providers who can respond quickly," Wiland and Bell said.

New listings in the Family Tree section of the database are $179 annually. "Premium" listings, presented in boldface at the top of each listing, are also available. Organizations can enroll at www.caregivers-usa.org.