New Grants Over $4.5 Million Approved by The John A. Hartford Foundation Board of Trustees
The John A. Hartford Foundation Board of Trustees has approved funding for six grants totaling $4,534,799 million to improve dementia care, advance equity in family caregiver support and in aging services, spread evidence-based age-friendly care and study the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other settings.
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA): UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program: Creating a Sustainable Health Systems Model for National Dissemination ($2,093,074 for 3 years)
An estimated 6.2 million people currently live with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, which are complex and costly conditions. The Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, developed at UCLA, has been shown to improve care for people living with dementia and their family caregivers and this grant will support national dissemination of the program through health systems. The initiative will develop flexible options for program uptake, continued education of clinicians in dementia care, promotion of comprehensive payment models and development of an Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Dissemination Center and a National Dementia Care Learning Collaborative.
Diverse Elders Coalition: Strengthening Training and Advocacy Capacity to Support Diverse Family Caregivers ($1,350,000 for 3 years)
The Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC) is made up six member organizations, which include the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the National Caucus and Center for Black Aging, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Network, the National Hispanic Council on Aging, the National Indian Council on Aging and SAGE: Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders. With this grant, the coalition will continue to improve and expand its caregiver supports and services by refining and delivering its previously developed curriculum to train more professionals on the needs of family caregivers of diverse older adults. In addition, the grant builds the capacity of the coalition’s member organizations to engage in sustained advocacy on issues that affect caregivers from diverse communities.
Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging: Best Practice Caregiving Phase III: Consumer Version ($450,000 for 2 years)
Best Practice Caregiving is a one-stop, comprehensive, free online resource that assists professional organizations in comparing and selecting from nearly 50 evidence-based programs that support family caregivers of people living with dementia. This grant will create, launch and disseminate a consumer version of the online resource, specifically designed for use by caregivers. The Best Practice Caregiving consumer version will have an important new emphasis on programs developed for, tested with, translated for and delivered to caregivers from diverse communities, which will be accomplished by partnering with the Diverse Elders Coalition and its six national member organizations.
American Society on Aging: Advancing Equity in Aging ($341,725 for 3 years)
The population of older adults in the US is rapidly diversifying in its racial and ethnic makeup, and the American Society on Aging (ASA) is committed to helping ensure that leaders of organizations serving older adults reflect this growing diversity. This three-year grant will support ASA Rise, a 20-week career and leadership development program that will train at least 60 professionals of color in the field of aging. ASA Rise fellows will build core competencies and skills, receive mentorship and develop national projects focused on principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. The grant also supports the dissemination of content and thought leadership on aging and equity issues through ASA’s Generations digital media platform. ASA Rise is co-funded by the Archstone Foundation and the RRF Foundation for Aging.
Center for Health Care Strategies: Development of the Better Care Playbook, Phase VI ($200,000 for 2 years)
Through a seven-foundation philanthropic collaborative committed to improving care for people with complex health and social needs, the Center for Health Care Strategies will receive support to continue the development and dissemination of the Better Care Playbook, a robust online set of resources used by health systems and payers seeking to adopt evidence-based models and practices. This grant phase will expand upon the extensive collection to include new peer-to-peer learning opportunities for program adopters, podcasts and deep-dive webinars on topics such as home-based primary care, palliative care and family caregiver support.
National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care: National Study on the Impact of COVID-19 in Senior Living, Phase II ($100,000 for 3 months)
The impact of COVID-19 on older adults has been unparalleled in modern history, disproportionately affecting people over the age of 65 and in US nursing homes. However, differences in outcomes for older adults living in congregate settings versus traditional home environments are not well understood. As a follow-up to a June 2021 NORC report comparing COVID-19-related mortality rates for people living in various levels of congregate housing to those in residential homes, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care will study how demographic factors and health status of older adults influenced COVID-19 mortality rates in congregate living versus community settings.