The Careforce for an Aging America

Interprofessional and Cross-Sector Care Teams

Collaboration across care team members is crucial for providing equitable, age-friendly care. These essential careforce members include nurses, physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, social workers, direct care workers, public health experts, community-based social service providers and many others, including family caregivers, who work in concert to meet the needs of older adults. JAHF has supported innovations in careforce training and coordination in 2021 through bold grantmaking.

In this section:

Improving Serious Illness Care with Innovative Team-Based Solutions

The JAHF Tipping Point Challenge, facilitated by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, highlighted innovative programs supporting individuals with serious illnesses. 2021 gold winners included:

Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Primary Palliative Care RN Resource Team Initiative featured a group of nurses working to spread palliative care system-wide using CAPC’s online resources and in-person mentorship.
The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare Consortium, led by Indiana University School of Medicine, increased hospice and palliative care services in Kenya by developing training programs for Kenyan nurses, clinical officers and physicians.
The palliative care teams at Parkland Hospital and UT Southwest Medical Center sent patients weekly text alerts to intervene before a crisis occurs through their Texting to Find the Tipping Point project, avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Optum CA formed a robust interdisciplinary team with a Care Partner role – a hired surrogate family member who helps the patient and family with care management.

Developing the Next Generation of Careforce Leaders

The American Hospital Association announced the newest Age-Friendly Cohort of its Next Generation Leaders Fellowship, a program supporting individuals executing transformative projects that address a specific challenge within their health care organization.

Teaching the Nursing Home Workforce

Other JAHF-funded projects offering innovative provider training include the Teaching Nursing Home program pilot, launched in Pennsylvania in partnership with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and its Health Careers Futures program and co-funded by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and Independence Foundation. The model helps students foster careers in geriatrics and nursing home leadership.

Fostering Team-Based Community and Health System Collaboration

The JAHF Business Innovation Award, coordinated by USAging (formerly the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging) and its Aging and Disability Business Institute, recognizes community-based organizations that improve the well-being of older adults. The 2021 recipient, Hebrew SeniorLife, was honored for its Right Care, Right Place, Right Time: Effectively Integrating Senior Care and Housing (R3) program, which embeds a nurse and a social worker in senior housing, improving access to care and resources. The runners-up for the award were DayBreak Adult Care Centers, which was recognized for its Rapid Response Case Management program, and Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities of Southwest Washington and its Community Paramedicine program.

Coronavirus protection. Young adult doing food deliveries, groceries and supplies to her senior father. Illness prevention. People with protective mask on their faces when meeting.

Advancing Age-Friendly Care Through the Public Health Careforce

The Age-Friendly Public Health Systems initiative, led by Trust for America’s Health, recognized the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Health in Sarasota County, Florida in 2021 for expanding community-based support of healthy aging.

The initiative and Trust for America’s Health supported public health workers, clinicians and social service providers to ensure homebound older adults had access to COVID-19 vaccinations through weekly huddles, guides to innovative practices and policy recommendations.

Supporting the Careforce

Home and Direct Care Workers

They are more than a workforce. Home and direct care workers are a careforce. They conduct essential tasks that help older adults and people with disabilities live with dignity.

Learn About Our Support

Family Caregivers

Family caregivers are an integral part of the careforce.
They are vital members of the health care team who serve as advocates, navigators and the safety net for older adults.

Discover Our Resources