Rush University System for Health

The Caring for Caregivers Model is changing how health systems and agencies on aging support the family member or friend who is caring for an older adult. When a patient is admitted to the hospital or treated in an outpatient setting, the caregiver is identified in the electronic health record. This helps ensure the caregiver is informed of the patient’s treatment and care plan and provided with support to learn how to provide care and adjust to the demands and stresses of their role. Rush started the Caring for Caregivers model and successfully piloted it at six hospitals, where measurable improvements were found in the health and well-being of the patients and caregivers. Based on that success, Rush was awarded a grant to share this model with thousands of health systems and agencies across the United States, tailor the model’s interventions to each system’s needs and help them to successfully implement it.