Caregivers and Professionals Partnership, Caregivers Resource Center

About Us

For those who care for an ill or disabled adult family member or friend, and for hospital staff who work with caregivers and/or are caregivers themselves.

he Caregivers and Professionals Partnership (CAPP) is a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary program to strengthen and sustain Mount Sinai Hospital and affiliate institutions' responsiveness to the role and needs of family caregivers of adults. CAPP's target populations are 1) caregivers connected with Mount Sinai and its affiliates through the care of their adult family member, their own care, their residence in the local community, or their employment; and 2) Mount Sinai physicians, other professionals, and support staff.

CAPP's design evolved from Mount Sinai's successful implementation of its United Hospital Fund (UHF) Family Caregiver Initiative planning grant. From focus groups/task forces with family caregivers and health care professionals and a telephone survey of caregivers including those who are Spanish-speaking, the following major needs were emphasized: centralized information and support services; coordinated programs to advocate for caregivers; culturally-sensitive, bilingual services for Spanish-speaking caregivers; and education for healthcare providers.

CAPP is funded by a UHF implementation grant and includes three major programmatic components: 1) The CAPP Caregiver Resource Center to provide centralized, accessible information and support to caregivers of adult patients through telephone assistance, a resource library, newsletter, and website; 2) A Performance Improvement Initiative to increase institutional responsiveness to caregiver issues; and 3) An Education program for staff and caregivers to a) promote staff sensitivity and training to improve hospital-wide practice with family caregivers and b) enhance caregivers' ability to manage caring for family members.

Unique to CAPP is an oversight and implementation structure that includes multi-disciplinary staff and caregivers. As one caregiver said during the planning phase, "Treat us like partners, not pests!" CAPP is designed to put this statement into action by including caregivers in all aspects of the program. CAPP is being implemented under the guidance of its Steering Committee composed of senior physicians and staff as well as caregivers. In addition, caregivers are members of the CAPP Caregiver Resource Center Advisory Committee and are used as volunteers and ad hoc consultants within the program. The Caregiver Resource Center also has created an Associates Forum, partnering with 13 disease specific and caregiver assistance organizations to ensure that family caregivers receive resources to help them manage their caregiving responsibilities.