Upward Care Continues Growth with Expansion to Austin
We started Upward Care with the mission of better preparing family caregivers for the responsibility that they face and the hope of improving outcomes for both family caregivers and care recipients. Through intense focus on that mission and the support of incredible community partners we have been able to make an impact on the lives of family caregivers all across San Antonio. 96% of family caregivers that complete one of our modules say they feel confident they can deliver care in a safer manner.
We have also come to believe that all family caregivers deserve access to the type of hands on training that we provide. Thanks to a new partnership with the Capital Area Agency on Aging we will now be able to make our services available to family caregivers in Austin and surrounding counties at no cost. We are grateful to have the support of such an incredible organizations such as the CAPCOG. Formed in 1970, CAPCOG has served as an advocate, planner and coordinator on important regional issues in the 10-county encompassing Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most importantly for us they steward the Area Agency on Aging of the Capital Area. Similarly, to other AAA's, the AAACAP directly supports older adults and their caregivers through its Access and Assistance program, Benefits Counseling, Long-term care and Assisted Living Facilities Ombudsman services, Care Coordination and Information, Referral and Assistance services.
We believe in the total support for family caregivers which includes mental health, financial planning and respite care but there is no bigger impact than training a family member to care for their loved one. We love watching family caregivers come to us overwhelmed with their current situation and slowly grow in confidence and empowerment with each new skill. Unfortunately, education particularly hands on skills training is a resource severely lacking. According to the most recent AARP caregiver study only a small portion of family caregivers are offered education resources, almost none of which are hands on. Our goal is to change that.
Increasing access to caregiver education and training has become a core principle for our organization. Over the next couple of weeks we will introduce additional initiatives that we hope can start to address the challenges that family caregivers face.
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