Hosted by New York Academy of Medicine
NEW YORK, NY (April 25, 2014) — There is one person in the health care system who plays an important role in providing care but whose needs are often overlooked — the family caregiver. Family caregivers provide unpaid care to loved ones often at great personal cost.
The challenges facing the family caregiver and the recognizing their needs are the focus of a day-long summit, “Family Caregiving: Name It; Know Its Many Faces,” sponsored by EmblemHealth’s NYC Partnership for Family Caregiving Corps and the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service: Be the Evidence Project, on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at the New York Academy of Medicine.
Nationally recognized experts will discuss ways to support family caregivers, including Carol Levine, Director, Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund, and Rev. Eric J. Hall, President and CEO, HealthCare Chaplaincy Network. The summit is open to medical professionals, social workers, clergy, family caregivers, students, city agencies and the general public, to explore the many roles family caregivers play within the health care system and identify solutions to common challenges they face.
With an aging population, shorter hospital stays and medical advances that keep people alive longer and technology that allows people who are ill to stay at home, the importance of family caregivers — and the demands placed on them — will only increase. For the family caregiver, the costs take a financial, physical, spiritual and emotional toll. For businesses, costs come in the form of lost productivity, absenteeism, increased heath care costs and more.
“EmblemHealth is very proud to present this event with the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services and collaborate with the New York Academy of Medicine,” said Gregory Johnson, director of EmblemHealth's Care for the Family Caregiver initiative. “There are close to 66 million family caregivers around the United States who provide an estimated $450 billion in unpaid services. Close to 20 million of these family caregivers — six times the number of nurses in the entire country — perform nursing tasks. We are excited to bring people together from around the country to discuss the common challenges and obstacles facing family caregivers, and discuss possible solutions to offer support and to keep them from becoming cared for themselves.”
Registration begins at 8:30 am. The program takes place from 9 am to 6 pm. Event registration is free, but required. To register, visit www.nyam.org/2014familycaregivingsummit.
About New York City Partnership for Family Caregiving Corps
The New York City Partnership for Family Caregiving Corps (NYCP4FCC) was created by family caregiving leaders and EmblemHealth to help business leaders learn more about the bottom-line impact of caregiving and how to address it. Family caregiving costs U.S. corporations $34 billion each year in lost productivity, absenteeism, and other factors that directly impact their bottom line. NYCP4FCC provides outreach, resources, and advocacy for family caregivers NYCP4FCC members include EmblemHealth, Friends In Deed, Share The Care, Spiritual Conditioning for Family Caregivers, SAGE, and Intersections International.
About EmblemHealth
EmblemHealth, Inc. provides quality health care coverage and administrative services to approximately 3.4 million people. Groups and individuals can choose from a variety of PPO, EPO and HMO plans, as well as coverage for prescription drugs and dental and vision care. EmblemHealth offers a choice of networks, including quality doctors and other health care professionals throughout the region, leading acute care hospitals across the tri-state area, and physicians and hospitals across all 50 states. For more information, visit www.emblemhealth.com.
About EmblemHealth Care for the Family Caregiver Initiative
In recognition of the crucial role caregivers play and the support they need to provide this care, EmblemHealth created the Care for the Family Caregiver initiative more than 10 years ago. Care for the Family Caregiver offers information, resources and support that caregivers need to avoid becoming care recipients. EmblemHealth's Care for the Family Caregiver initiative recognizes the health needs of the "silent patients" and is designed to serve as a resource. We encourage you to see us as a supportive partner in your caregiving journey. To learn more, visit www.emblemhealth.com/careforthefamilycaregiver.
About Fordham University
Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to more than 15,100 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in West Harrison, N.Y., the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y., and the London Centre at Heythrop College, University of London, in the United Kingdom.
About The New York Academy of Medicine
An independent organization since 1847, the New York Academy of Medicine addresses the health challenges facing the world’s urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, innovative research, evaluation, education, and community engagement. Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are to create environments in cities that support healthy aging; to strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public’s health; and to eliminate health disparities.