Using care teams to support individuals and families
Abstract
A care team is a group of volunteers working together to offer practical, emotional, and spiritual support to individuals and families with health care concerns or other special needs. This volunteer management approach was developed to support people living with HIV/AIDS, but was expanded in 1997 to support people with Alzheimer's disease, cancer, heart disease, stroke, or others with special needs such as frail elderly, homebound persons, or refugees. Excerpted from The Care Team Network.Issue
The number of persons with health care needs at home is increasing. Due to improved medical care, people are living longer, but often with fewer resources. At the same time, fewer caregivers are available due to family members living further apart. One-on-one volunteers can easily get "burned out" without needed support, and many community groups focus primarily on short-term crises.Action
The care team approach provides volunteers with maximum time flexibility, a built-in support system, and the opportunity to offer a variety of skills. Most importantly, Team Members are asked first what each enjoys doing in helping others, rather than getting people to do something they do not like to do nor are inclined to do naturally. Team members do what they can, when they can, but in an organized approach with a built-in support system. Types of assistance provided by care teams include transportation to the doctor or grocery store, household or yard chores, errands, meals, social outings, visits, phone calls, and respite time for caregivers, to name a few.
Characteristics of a care team include:
- A clearly defined team of volunteers with special training.
- A defined mission that involves meeting the needs of a person (basic model), place (facility model), or the common needs of several people (mission model).
- Team members meet approximately once a month for 59 minutes or less as a team to communicate with one another, educate themselves to do their mission more effectively, and coordinate their work.
- Each volunteer makes a one-year commitment to the team, though an "easy on, easy off" policy allows for Team Members to join the team throughout the year, or drop off the team without guilt if their life situation changes.
- Each team member's monthly time involvement is flexible.
- The Care Team Network volunteer philosophy is that they provide volunteers with a "head, heart, and feet" experience. This means helping volunteers learn something new (head), touching their emotions with real, personal stories (heart), and then challenging them to do something (feet).
- The Care Team Network model includes recruiting, training, linking, and support methods.
- Once volunteers express interest to be on a team to meet a specific need, orientation is offered on-site at the convenience of team members. Continuing education is then offered during regular team meetings.
- Each team designates a leader to coordinate the work, and a coach (professional in the community) can be available to utilize community resources and serve as a liaison with the Care Team and the Care Team Friend (client).
- The Care Team Network provides a one-day leadership training conference to teach the care team vision and introduce methods for starting, training, and maintaining care teams. Leadership training conferences are offered throughout the United States.
- A free newsletter is available from the Care Team Network by e-mail or can be viewed online.
- The Care Team Network website provides information on the team development process. Website: http://www.careteam.org
- The Care Team Network has professional staff and volunteers available for phone consultation, Monday-Friday, 8-5 (CST) to partner organizations. Becoming a partner is an optional step, for a minimum annual donation of $250, and provides additional support such as toll-free consultation, e-mail support, addition of web resources for a team, and network of over 6,000 persons in the U.S. to share ideas, solve problems, and more.
Context
Based in Alabama, The Care Team Network was originally formed to support persons with HIV disease and has trained hundreds of care teams since it began in 1994. The founders were an international AIDS specialist, a prominent businessman, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a clergyman. The Care Team Network trained over 100 hundred teams and 1200 volunteers in the first three years. The network expanded in 1997 to include teams for persons with any health care concern or other special needs. Persons in the community with need are identified through health care providers, congregations, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Volunteers are recruited from congregations in a dozen faith groups (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Islam) with diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, and from universities, medical schools, civic organizations, health care providers, interested individuals, and friends.Citation
From The Support Team Network website (formerly called The Care Team Network):
Outcome
Hundreds of care teams trained since 1994 provide essential support care to the sick, elderly, homebound, displaced, terminally ill, or others with special needs. The Care Team Network is now a training and resource center for care team development nationwide and people have attended their Care Team Leadership Training Conferences in forty states.Posted On
October 26, 2001For More Information
Rev. Malcolm Marler, D.Min.
The Care Team Network
Director
Community Care Building, Suite 188, 908 S. 20th Street
Birmingham,
AL
35294-2050
Phone: (205) 975-8923
Fax: (205) 975-6448
Website: http://www.careteam.org
Email: careteam@uab.edu
Other: (205) 975-9129