Introduction to The Care Partner Project

Please take a few moments to read about the values behind our mission to advance health care literacy at the grass roots –
along with you!

Speaker Orientation: Values and Culture

Included in Your Toolkit

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Presentation Decks, Audience Handouts* 

*Download and email PDFs handouts with presentation notes to audience members after you present. They will appreciate having these notes and your follow-up email is a nice way to thank audience members for attending, creating another memorable connection with you.

Little-known fact: about  25% of patients are  accidentally harmed during hospital care.  Why? It’s no secret our healthcare providers are stretched thin. Despite their best intentions, cracks in care open up. Share simple, practical tips to prevent common complications in hospitals care:

• What to watch for, say, and do
• Key moments when patients are especially vulnerable
• How to support good communication—key to getting good care
• Plus many more valuable tips!

Length: 2 versions, approx. 60 minutes and 40 minutes

Audiences: Adults 18+, especially adult caregivers to aging parents, anyone managing an illness with a high risk of hospital care, anyone considering surgery, Certified Senior Advisors, benefits managers, employee groups, adult education programs (such as OLLIE, Osher Life Long Learning Institute), patient education and support organizations such as Gilda’s Club.

Maxine has no trouble speaking up! But, for most people,  initiating or having 2-way conversations with doctors and nurses can be intimidating – even asking questions can feel uncomfortable.

For best care, it’s important to know key stress points in health care that beg for patients and their Care Partners  to be heard … and heeded.

This lively, interactive presentation sets up fun little “rehearsals,” so participants leave with crucial info about when to speak up for safe and sound care – how to channel their inner Maxine with tact and grace!

Length: 30-40 minutes

Audiences: Adults 18+, especially adult caregivers to aging parents, anyone managing an illness with a high risk of hospital care, anyone considering surgery,  Certified Senior Advisors, benefits managers, employee groups, adult education programs (such as OLLIE, Osher Life Long Learning,) patient education and support organizations such as Gilda’s Club.

At some point in our lives, we may be unable to make healthcare decisions for ourselves. However, there are documents we can prepare that will express our wishes and guide decisions others may need to make on our behalf.

Naming your Medical Power of Attorney and specifying your wishes in POLST and DNR documents are often fraught with assumptions and incomplete information that may mean your wishes are not carried out as you intend.

In less than an hour, pick up key ideas and “to-do’s” for a mindful and sensitive process that will serve you well and give you peace of mind.

Length: 50 minutes

Audiences: Older adults, estate planning advisors, CSA/Certified Senior Advisors, family caregivers, professional patient advocates, staff in residential care communities.

Retirement communities may be a good solution for those who may want fewer responsibilites and more fun. More daunting is when someone can no longer live independently. There is no roadmap for such an important life decision.

This presentation offers such a roadmap, with guidance on how to identfy needs and priorities, and then, vet residential communities for quality, safety and fit.

Length: 50 minutes

Audiences: Older adults, family caregivers, estate planning advisors, CSA/Certified Senior Advisors, professional patient advocates, staff in senior residential communities.

It’s often impossible to break from work or fly cross country to be at a loved one’s bedside during their hospital stay. Share how to be present and informed from a distance – tips and strategies professional patient advocates picked up during Covid, still relevant and helpful today:

• How and when to connect with medical staff  (best times of day and why)
• How to get consistent, meaningful medical updates on your loved one
• How to monitor care, diagnoses, recovery, and more.

Covid taught us a lot about one SuperBug and simple ways to protect ourselves. But, other “Supers” exist in our communities and health care centers. Too often, they don’t respond well to antibiotics, and there are no vaccines for them, either. Through real-life stories, share prevention tips:

• Where Superbugs lurk (MRSA, C diff, UT’s, bloodstream/sepsis)
• How to avoid or conquer them
• Symptoms and treatments
• When to get medical help… immediately.

Length: 45 minutes

Audiences: Anyone caring for/with a compromised immune system, those in public health, patient education, school nurses, senior living staff

Advocates know this, but it’s not common knowlege: achieving the best care is not as simple as having the best facilities and the brightest medical minds.

Share 10 simple tips that can make a big difference in the quality of care (and peace of mind).

In other words, how to get the best out of our best!

Length: 30 minutes

Audience: Everyone!

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