Success Stories

Caregiver Training Goes Online

So many of us are, will be, or have been caregivers of a friend or family member living with a life-limiting illness. At times, it can be an overwhelming journey.

In 2018, Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program (CHPCP) launched their Practical Caregiver Training course to ease this journey. Over five in-person sessions, caregivers learn everything from how to navigate the hospice palliative care system and communicating difficult subjects to how to help someone out of bed or manage their medication. The training is invaluable, with participants reporting a 100% satisfaction rate.

Then COVID-19 arrived. Last spring, all in-person sessions for practical caregiver training had to be cancelled, just when it was needed the most. CHPCP Executive Director Nadine Valk and her team decided that the only way that they could overcome this obstacle was to turn the modules into an online course.

When Nadine shared her plan with OutCare, we knew that this was another great opportunity to work together. We applied and received funding from the Ottawa Community Foundation to adapt the Practical Caregiver Training for online delivery. The work to bring the training online also made it feasible to create a ‘train the trainer’ kit.

Course materials have been created and distributed throughout the Champlain region and beyond so that organizations are able to run this important training right in their community! The expanded reach means that more friends and families will be supported in their caregiving journey.

Practical Caregiver Training

This 5-session program has been co-designed with Caregivers themselves and is delivered in a participatory small-group format. The program provides an opportunity for Caregivers to ask their questions directly to the professionals including Social Workers, Nurses and a Physiotherapist.