Nevada Care Connection
Contact
Nevada Care Connection is an information clearinghouse and a connection point for Nevadans 55 and older and their caregivers.
Through the Nevada Care Connection website, individuals can obtain referrals and determine eligibility for medical and other services and find a wealth of other information.
Grants from the Family Caregiver Support Program allow the Sanford Center for Aging and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension to assist this program by:
- Producing a quarterly newsletter, Information Portal.
- Implementing service provider training and conducting training evaluation.
- Studying alternative funding opportunities for sustainability.
Another source of information for caregivers of older adults as well as people with disabilities is the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC).
(Back to top)Mission, Goals and Objectives
Nevada Care Connection service providers and advocates demonstrate leadership, engage in cooperative planning efforts, and develop collaborative partnerships to provide a solid foundation for a comprehensive information and referral/assistance service system that enhances the quality of life for older Nevadans and those who care for them.
Goals
- To assist seniors, their families and caregivers, by guiding them through the social services and health care maze; To give service providers tools that will assist them in offering quality services in a timely and efficient manner;
- To gather data on what services are being provided, what services are needed, and what services are not available but should be part of the senior care system; and
- To enable seniors, their families and caregivers, to have easy access to information about how and where to get assistance, care planning and care management, and other essential services.
Objectives
- Improve the capacity of older Nevadans to live independently for as long as possible.
- Develop an IT solution that will provide the above along with report generation.
- Provide a model for collaboration among agencies.
- Create a model for easy access that may duplicated by service providers for other populations.
- Develop a common standardized database of elder needs and services utilized to track individual and group services provided in order to provide data for reporting and predicting future needs.
- Develop a marketing strategy to promote awareness of the Nevada Care Connection (NVCC) system for seniors, caregivers, family members, providers, and communities.
- Develop universal accessibility through a variety of portals so seniors and their caregivers can reach the NVCC system directly or by referral.
- Identify and pursue diverse funding sources to maintain and expand access to the NVCC system.
- Determine an appropriate governing body and establish policies and procedures to administer the NVCC system.
- Continuously and actively recruit partner agencies to expand the capacity and effectiveness of the NVCC system.
- Ensure that relevant training is available to and accessed by partners on an ongoing basis.
- Develop a system for ensuring all referral information is current and accurate and continue to add new appropriate referral resources and information.
- Develop and maintain a quality assurance program.
Faculty and Staff
(Back to top)Training
September 23, 2009: Free Workshop in Las Vegas
September 24, 2009: Free Workshop in Carson City
Nevada Care Connection Training Modules
(See above trainings for location and module availability)
- Aging and Disability Resource Center (1/2-hour)
Designed to inform participants on how to navigate the ADRC website in order to more effectively access referral/assistance resources and programs that will assist and support seniors, persons with disabilities, and their caregivers.
- Slides
- Narration
Communication (1-hour)
Designed to provide communication skills to services providers so that they can communicate comfortably and effectively with seniors and their caregivers during screening, assessment, and referral processes. Trainees will develop and refine communication skills in order to improve interaction with seniors and their caregivers to optimize assessment of their needs.
- Slides
- Narration
Crisis Management (1-hour)
Designed to train service providers on how to respond appropriately to a crisis situation, a senior, or caregiver who feel they are in a state of crisis during screening, assessment, and referral procedures. Participants will develop an understanding for senior challenges and stressors that might precipitate crisis situations.
- Slides
- Narration
Grief and Loss (1-hour)
Designed to train service providers on how to interact appropriately and work effectively with older adults experiencing the loss of loved ones and/or the loss of their own abilities.
- Slides
- Narration
Interviewing (1-hour)
Designed to train interviewers to effectively control the communication with older adults or their caregivers, successfully guide the interview process, recognize the importance of the initial interview, and understand the specifics when interviewing with older adults.
- Slides
- Narration
Managing Difficult Behaviors Associated with ADLs in Patients with Dementia (2-hours)
Designed to familiarize service providers, as well as informal caregivers such as family members with strategies to manage difficult behaviors associated with activities of daily livings (e.g. bathing, eating, toileting) while caring for individuals with dementia. Further, to explore why it is important to reduce difficult behaviors and to maintain human dignity when forced with the challenges of dementia.
- Slides
- Narration
Memory and Dementia (1-hour)
Designed to familiarize participants with what is normal cognitive aging versus diseases that affect memory, types of memory, expected memory changes over time, the differences between dementia and delirium, risk factors, types of screenings/diagnostic workups, as well as knowledge of Alzheimer’s Disease (AZ) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
- Slides
- Narration
Self-Care for the Caregiver (1-hour)
Designed to train participants on how to enhance their ability to provide care for their self while providing care to others. Trainees will learn to identify the impact that caregiving takes on an individual and learn ways in which to cope effectively in this role. Stress reduction and self-care techniques are emphasized.
Trainers
Susan G. Harris, Sanford Center for Aging
Valerie Lykes, Sanford Center for Aging
LuAnne Steininger, Sanford Center for Aging
Teresa Sacks, Sanford Center for Aging
Course Credit
The modules described above have been approved for continuing various education credits by the State of Nevada Boards of Examiners for Long-Term Care Administrators, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists. The University of Nevada School of Medicine also provides continuing education credits for this program. Further, program modules are currently under review by the State of Nevada Bar Association for continuing legal credits for attorneys.
To register for this training, print and complete the registration form for the training you wish to attend then mail or fax registration to:
Nevada Geriatric Education Center
411 W. Second St., Reno, NV 89503
Fax: (775) 784-4544
For further information please contact Diann Fallness at 682-8470.
Contact Us
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list.
Telephone: (775) 784-7557
Fax: (775) 784-1814
Email: Susan Harris
Mailing Address
Sanford Center for Aging, MS 0146
Nevada Care Connection
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV 89557-0146