Cabrillo Extension caregiver training program course quickly fills [Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.]

Feb. 19--APTOS -- A new caregiver education program at Cabrillo College has quickly filled, and organizers say that shows a growing need for such training in the burgeoning industry.

The training was conceived at the 2007 Santa Cruz Senior Summit, as the group of private and public groups brainstormed ways to help local seniors. They decided a key need is to support their caregivers, said Clay Kempf, director of the Aptos-based Seniors Council.

"It's exciting to see it come to fruition," he said. "It's kind of innovative; there aren't many other programs like it."

Though the 30 spots in the seven Saturday course quickly filled, the community-education course will be offered again in fall. Tuition is $250; some scholarships are available.

Designed for family members caring for loved ones as well as entry-level professional caregivers, the class includes such basics as how to safely move a person from wheelchair to car, for example, as well as information on aging, stress, end-of-life directives, dementia care and career considerations.

Some of the courses will be taught at the Cabrillo Nursing Skills Lab and others in a classroom.

The classes are funded through a $20,000 grant from MetLife, said Anji Buckner, a grant coordinator working for the college.

Buckner said a waiting list is being compiled, in part because they hope to continue the training after the grant expires this year. Cabrillo College is one of just two community colleges

in the state to begin to offer it this year, she said.

Technical skills required for caregiving are a step below those of a certified nurse assistant, and there is no state license or certificate for such workers, organizers said.

However, they handle key personal needs of those who cannot perform those functions themselves, and have skills that go beyond the companionship or homemaking duties which many private home health care agencies also offer.

Caregiver Amy Ascher of Live Oak said she could vouch for the need for the training.

Ascher, 50, became a caregiver when a friend of her late husband's became seriously ill, she said. She and her son lived with him for seven years as she cared for him daily.

"I was a widow and a single parent and I learned the hard way," Ascher said. "It was difficult physically and emotionally and I wouldn't recommend it. But I love being a caregiver, and I'm hoping the new course will give me a real education in some areas I'm not so familiar with, such as the business side of it."

Ascher works for Santa Cruz-based Lifespan Care Management Agency, where agency Director Saundie Isaak said the training will give graduates more work opportunities.

"It's a huge industry and we are very interested in creating a baseline training for caregivers," Isaak said. "On a national level, other trainings are surfacing similar to the modules we've created. It's not rocket science, but it comes down to what training do we want to provide for our county to have the basics of caring for elders in their homes, whether they work independently or for an agency."

Lifespan employs about 100 part- and full-time caregivers, ages 19 to 83, she said.

Senior Network Services has been fielding calls about it, as part of a number of referral and caregiver programs they offer.

Cindy Adams, a resource specialist there, said caregivers have asking about employment, as are so many others these days.

"And there is not a lot of training available, especially for unpaid or family caregivers, and people are really needing that help," she said. "This is for both."

Others involved in helping organize the course include the county, Del Mar Caregiver Resource Center, Elderday, Meals on Wheels, the Alzheimer's Association, Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Imagine Supported Living Services.

Reach Senior Network Services, on Capitola Road in Live Oak, at 462-1433. Reach Cabrillo Extension at 479-6331, or at www.cabrillo-extension.org.

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