Other Programs

OSA is involved in the development of a variety of programs and collaborations in association with the Arnold School of Public Health, the SC Department of Health and Human Services, and other affiliates.  Our roles may include training, technical assistance and/or evaluation.

Caregiver Coaching Service
The OSA is piloting the Caregiver Coaching Service (CCS) in collaboration with the SC Department of Health an Human Services to assist caregivers of Community Long Term Care (CLTC) participants. CLTC is a community-based waiver program offering home-based supportive services to individuals who are nursing home level of care but desire to stay in their homes. The CCS is the first service in CLTC to be offered directly to the caregiver. The purpose of the CCS is to improve caregiver competence in caring for his/her loved one and to promote caregiver health and well-being to prevent burnout. In effort to accomplish the purpose of the program, the CCS:

• provides support to family caregivers through person-centered assessment of caregiver needs
• promotes caregiver self-care
• provides individualized caregiver training on specific topics, including:
  • Caregiver Wellness
  • Dementia
  • Incontinence
• provides appropriate follow-up to ensure caregiver wellness

The CCS includes a Caregiver Coach, a trained professional social worker, visiting the home of caregivers to talk with them about their concerns in taking care of their loved one, address their concerns through open discussion and individualized training, and help caregivers identify ways of addressing their needs by facilitating the development of an Action plan. The service also include the Caregiver Coach providing telephone follow-up one week after each session to assess how the caregiver is following through on the Action Plan, to provide support, and to determine if additional training is needed.

The OSA along with research faculty at the Arnold School of Public Health is evaluating the pilot to determine its feasibility as a waivered-service as well as the impact on caregivers, and in turn, the impact on participants of the CLTC program.

Person-Centered Hospital Discharge Planning Model Grant
The OSA in collaboration with the Lt. Governor's Office on Aging, the Greenville Aging and Disabilities and the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center are implementing Connections, a person-centered hospital discharge model. Funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the model involves a "discharge coach" who meets with individuals in the hospital to get to know them and establish rapport. A comprehensive community resource notebook is also provided. After individuals are discharged to home, the coach makes phone contacts to assist them in meeting their goal of remaining in the community through close follow-up of their discharge plan.

Utilizing the support of the discharge coach, the emphasis in Connections is initially placed on:

• encouraging and supporting the individual to obtain and be knowledgeable of their medications
• following up with doctor appointments
• being aware of and managing their illness
• the introduction of a personal health record

OSA staff is involved in training the Connections coaches on the "person-centered" and "coaching" approaches, an expansion of the consumer-directed care training, as well as providing technical assistance and evaluation for the project.

Partnership around CNA Training and Mentoring (PACT) Program
In collaboration with Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina, Inc., OSA is developing and piloting the PACT program. This is an expansion of Goodwill's current CNA job training program which offers employment potential for low-income, at-risk individuals. In an effort to support individuals in becoming Certified Nursing Assistants, Goodwill provides additional supportive services and education during their Nurse Aide Training Program. The goals of the PACT program include producing qualified and employed CNAs as well as offering them mentorship opportunities and additional training in groundbreaking training models for direct care workers.

OSA is involved in training mentors in the placement facilities as well as enhanced training to the newly placed CNAs and facility mentors. OSA also provides technical assistance for the PACT Program, lending expertise in direct care recruitment and retention. The program seeks to address:

• the increased need for trained direct care workers in long term care facilities
• employers' desire for experienced workers
• the need for new CNAs to acquire enhanced training beyond the basic CNA training
• the turnover of direct care workers

Community Choices
Community Choices (formerly SC Choice), the consumer-directed care community-based waiver program, was created to give more choice and control to frail elderly and disabled individuals desiring to stay at home. The program also addresses the needs of caregivers who wish to delay institutionalization of their loved ones. With increased control over services, caregivers may receive more supportive assistance to keep their loved ones in the home.

SC Choice was developed in collaboration with SC Department of Health and Human Services Division of Community Long Term Care to give informed consumers more choice and control over their service dollars and providers. Individuals in the program are given access to a budget to purchase personal and community-based services and supplies. 

Community Choices was established to provide a continuum of levels of choice and control to all frail elderly and disabled individuals in South Carolina's community-based waiver program.  This change allows individuals a range of choice and control over all community-based waiver services to just a select few.  With the administrative change from SC Choice to Community Choices, more individuals are allowed choices at the level in which they feel comfortable.   

The Office for the Study of Aging has provided technical assistance and evaluation of the SC Choice program. OSA has developed the philosophical training components of the program, including person-centered planning. OSA has trained Community Long Term Care staff to prepare them for the implementation of the Consumer-Directed Care program. 

Since the inception of SC Choice, OSA has expanded its training on consumer direction to include individuals in long term care who are interested in implementing a consumer-directed care programs.