Preparing Family Caregivers Part 1: Roles in Home Care & Hospice

Presented by Tina Marrelli and Kim Corral

12-Month Subscription

Unlimited access to:

  • Thousands of CE Courses
  • Patient Education
  • Home Exercise Program
  • And more

Accreditation check:

Video Runtime: 32 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 6 Minutes

Home care and hospice team members must rely on family, friends, or other lay caregivers to help patients throughout the plan of care. Sometimes it is easy to assume that these key members of the health care team already understand the health care environment and its complexity. It is important to assume at the onset of care that they may not. With this in mind, this foundational course helps team members work with family caregivers to improve knowledge and care. Safety and quality are addressed, as well as care between and after visits. A patient and family exemplar will be featured, patient and family perspectives will be examined with lessons learned, and reflection activities for improvement will be explored.

Meet your instructors

Tina Marrelli

Tina Marrelli is the president of Marrelli and Associates, Inc., a publishing and consulting firm working in home care for more than 30 years. Tina is the author of 13 books, including the Handbook of Home Health Standards: Quality, Documentation, and Reimbursement (6th edition, 2018). Other books include A Guide…

Read full bio

Kim Corral

Kim is a registered nurse with a master's degree in education and more than 30 years of home health experience. She is an experienced leader in home health care, having held both clinical and operational positions at regional and national levels for large corporate home health organizations. She brings a passion for providing…

Read full bio

Chapters & learning objectives

Family Caregivers: Sometimes Undervalued but Very Important Members of the Health Care Team

1. Family Caregivers: Sometimes Undervalued but Very Important Members of the Health Care Team

A number of grassroots and governmental efforts are fueling the interest and support of family and friend caregivers. This foundational chapter discusses some of these efforts and their intrinsic value for home care and hospice clinicians and organizations. A number of state and federal initiatives and other caregiving-related models will be examined.

Redefining Roles: Helping Family and Friend Caregivers Meet Patient Goals and Outcomes

2. Redefining Roles: Helping Family and Friend Caregivers Meet Patient Goals and Outcomes

In this chapter, a practical and holistic definition of caregivers and the people they provide care for will be presented. In addition, the assistance or challenges that may present themselves when working with these important lay caregivers will be examined. How do educational priorities best get determined and addressed? What are the priorities, and why? The importance of the family caregiver’s role at the onset of care, e.g., during the assessment or initial visits, is also examined as a determinant of success in relationship building and as an important part of the clinician relationship or therapeutic milieu. These interactions can be integrated into an actionable part of the plan of care. A role-playing scenario will be presented to better illustrate such interactions as well as tips for success.