UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing’s Caring for the Caregiver program earns national award

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Maude’s Awards honor those caring for dementia patients

The Caring for the Caregiver Program (C4CP) of the School of Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) has earned a national award for its comprehensive education and support for families living with dementia.

The 5TH Annual Maude’s Awards were announced in Seattle, rewarding innovations that enrich the quality of life for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as their care partners. The award was created in 2019 by Richard Ferry, co-founder of management consulting firm Korn Ferry International, to honor his wife who was diagnosed with dementia six years earlier.

“Our Caring for the Caregiver Program was established in response to community-identified critical unmet needs to support family caregivers,” said Roxana Delgado, PhD, MS, professor and director of the program. “This mission-driven, multi-service program provides education to support the transition into the caregiving role. The education and skills-training approach enhances knowledge and builds caregiver confidence, and capacity in performing complex care tasks.”

The program supports caregivers across South Texas by providing presentations, engagement and education.

Some of the program’s most popular services include:

  • Health Digital Literacy for Caregivers workshops, in which caregivers learn more about the ways various assistive technologies can benefit them in their roles
  • Memory Café, a comfortable, quarterly social gathering that allows people experiencing memory loss and loved ones to connect, socialize and build new support networks
  • Dementia Friendly San Antonio Advisory Council, a communitywide grassroots initiative led by an advisory board in partnership with Caring for the Caregiver
  • Essentials of Caregiving monthly educational series
  • Virtual Dementia Training, which creates a window into the world of dementia through individualized, experiential learning

UT Health San Antonio’s program was one of three organizations awarded nationally, joining ARTZ Philadelphia and Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, with each also earning a monetary award of $25,000. Four individuals also were recognized, and with awards of $5,000 apiece, and two organizations earned honorable mentions.

Caring for the Caregiver won for the category, “Supporting Care Partners,” providing education, training or support for care partners of persons living with dementia.

Ferry continues his journey as a care partner and tireless advocate discovering and sharing innovations that speak to the challenges and needs of persons living with dementia and their care partners.

Maude’s Awards are for achievement, as opposed to grants for future programs. The intent is to reward programs that have demonstrated success. Nominated programs must have been active in 2022 or the year prior. If the program is currently active or recurring, it must have completed one year of operation, or enough time to demonstrate success.

For more information on the Maude’s Awards, visit: https://maudesawards.org

For more information on the School of Nursing’s Caring for the Caregiver Program, visit: https://utcaregivers.org/



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