In an effort to reach more caregivers, Canary Health’s caregiver focused Building Better Caregivers®(BBC) program and CaringBridge®, a free, personal, protected communications platform that provides a simple solution for updating your community on the loved one in your care, have teamed up to reach more veteran caregivers to deliver the tools and support they need […]
Evelyn, a veteran herself, wants to give back to veterans for their service. She is currently caring for another veteran but found she didn’t know what was involved with caregiving, and felt she was on an island by herself. Then she found the Building Better Caregivers® program. Now she knows she can take on the […]
Facilitator Val, having gone through cancer as a child and experiencing first hand what caregiving looks like, shares how that experience, along with the caregiving she has given to her family over the years, has helped her relate better as a peer to participants in the Canary Health Building Better Caregivers program, than if she […]
Thelma, a participant in and now a facilitator for Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) online workshops shares the value of peer support facilitators vs workshops led by non-peer facilitators. She explains how it improves the health and well-being of Canary Health’s workshop participants, and how outcomes of the caregiver and their patient improve. Schedule A […]
Meet Robin, also known as DesertBlu. Robin was a caregiver to her mom and dad for over 10 years. During that time she signed up for Building Better Caregivers®(BBC) and Better Choices, Better Health®(BCBH). Later she became a Canary Health® facilitator for BBC and BCBH to stress the importance of proactive care. Listen to her […]
Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) participants often discover they’re not alone in facing the challenges of caregiving. The nature of around-the-clock caregiving can take a toll on the health of family caregivers, impacting their caregiving capacity, and even sending them to the hospital. Employers, health plans, and families are impacted by the increase in healthcare costs […]
Eldonia, Caregiver for her father, a Navy Veteran, learned to find time for herself and even improved her health by participating in the 6-week online Building Better Caregivers® workshop. Schedule A Meeting
Like many caregivers, Gloria found herself in the unexpected role of caregiver for her husband, a disabled Veteran. She struggled to find support and resources for at-home family caregivers with no formal training. “I felt like I was in it by myself, no one understood. If I didn’t take care of myself first – mentally […]
By Lee Woodruff, AARP Most caregivers have a complicated relationship with self-care. We keep a polite smile on when someone (usually not actively caregiving) tells us, “Make sure you take care of yourself, too!” Sure. Of course. Easier said than done. So how do you find ways to incorporate very specific actions and physical […]
By Eileen J. Tell, Mph; Pamela Nadash, Phd;Marc A. Cohen, Phd This report is one of two components of the RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Family caregivers were provided multiple forums to express their needs and challenges, thoughts and concerns. This report identifies findings from the forums and identify the specific services, supports or policy […]
November is National Family Caregivers Month in honor of all that caregivers do. But despite caregiving around the clock, caregivers are so much more. Building Better Caregivers®(BBC) graduate Paula cares for her husband, a Vietnam Vet with diabetes, Parkinson’s, heart disease and dementia. Before taking BBC, Paula had no time for herself. After the workshop, her […]
Diane looked forward to retiring when her husband retired, imagining they would enjoy a life of traveling together. Her husband’s unexpected diagnosis changed their plans however, but it didn’t throw a wrench in them. Find out how she approaches caregiving for her husband after taking the Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) 6-week online workshop. Watch How Diane Became a Better […]
Mary, Caregiver for her son, shares how the Building Better Caregivers® online workshop helped her better manage the challenges of caregiving for her Veteran. See how support from Caregivers and trained leaders in the BBC workshop helped her take time for herself, and make progress on her path to wellness for her Vet.
By Venus Wong, PhD, BCBA, Sarah Rosenbaum, MD, MPH, Winnie Sung, MBChB,Robert M. Kaplan, PhD, Nicholas Bott, PhD, Terry Platchek, MD, Arnold Milstein, MD,Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH We were pleased to see our Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) program as part of a New England Journal of Medicine catalyst publication where the authors present […]
Barbara, a full-time Caretaker for her husband with a cognitive impairment, learned how to be a better Caregiver after taking the Building Better Caregivers® 6-week online workshop. Resources, new techniques improving communication, and support from other Caregivers helped her to better manage her emotional and physical health.
This Fall, VA Caregiver Support Services will be expanding their program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers. Over the last 6 years, our Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) program has been available to all Caregivers who are caring for a Veteran from any era. To date over 9,000 Caregivers have enrolled in Building Better Caregivers. The […]
Samanta is a Caregiver for her husband, a Navy Veteran. Several years after they married, she noticed a change in his behavior. As he became more distant, she grew frustrated and even angry at times. When she discovered the Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) online workshop, she signed up in the hopes it could help her […]
Idena is a Caregiver for her husband, a Vietnam Vet. They struggled to communicate, and went through periods where he simply didn’t want to talk. She would get frustrated when he spoke of the war, because in her mind, it’s long over. But she kept trying; kept building her fortitude and resilience. She even moved […]