Reporters wishing to speak with someone about Next Step in Care should call 212-494-0733 or e-mail rdeluna@uhfnyc.org.
The following chronological list includes news items about the Next Step in Care campaign and about transitions in care, as well as other selected pieces about family caregiving. It is intended to be informative, but not exhaustive. Featured in many of the pieces, Carol Levine, director of the Families and Health Care Project at United Hospital Fund, oversees the Next Step in Care campaign.
In her Huffington Post blog, Andrea Chalupa explores family caregiver stress as a factor in the recent JetBlue flight attendant meltdown. The blog features an essay on the topic by Carol Levine. (August 19, 2010)
A column in upstate New York’s Post-Journal about health care-related websites prominently features the Next Step in Care, calling it a “wonderful” resource. (August 2, 2010)
The Health Affairs Blog publishes an essay—co-written by Carol Levine, Eric Coleman of the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. and Mary Naylor of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing—that makes a strong case that "patient-centered care and coordination should be foundational, not optional." (July 14, 2010)
A New York Times article focuses on hospital discharge planning offers guidance on how to pave the way for smoother transitions, including mentions of the Next Step in Care website for assistance with medication management and with creating your own discharge plan. (June 18, 2010)
Bioethics Forum publishes an essay written by Carol Levine that puts into context President Obama's new directive to issue rules for hospitals that establish rights for non-relative patient visitors and surrogate decision-makers. The essay also identifies two related areas of concern. (April 19, 2010)
In an interview conducted by the Alzheimer's Association, Carol Levine discusses the status of family caregiving today, the impact of cognitive impairment on caregiving, and the Next Step in Care Campaign and the new TC-QuIC collaborative project. (Spring 2010)
An essay written by Carol Levine titled "Taking the First Step in Your Own Care" is published on the new National Parkinson Foundation website. The essay—the website's first blog on cargiving—offers self-care tips to help family caregivers, especially those new to caregiving, in their daily lives. (March 18, 2010)
A blog titled “Opening the Door to Partnerships with Family Caregivers,” by Carol Levine, is published on the Collaboration for Home Care Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) website. The website also includes several Next Step in Care guides in its "Resources" section. (February 17, 2010)
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) features the Next Step in Care website as a “Quality Tool” in an issue of Innovations Exchange focused on care coordination. (February 3, 2010)
Aging Well, a magazine for health professionals, publishes an article, “Monitoring Care Transitions—Make Sure the Next Caregiver Knows the Patient’s Needs,” coauthored by Carol Levine and Jennifer Rutberg, senior project manager for the Families and Health Care Project. (Winter 2010)
The peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs features a United Hospital Fund staff-written article titled “Bridging Troubled Waters: Family Caregivers, Transitions, and Long-Term Care,” which calls for greater integration of family caregivers into transitional care. The full article is available courtesy of the Fund through a link on its website until July 8, 2010, after which it will be available only through subscription to Health Affairs. (January 2010)
In a New America Media article about efforts in California to make patients' discharges from hospital to home safer, Carol Levine is quoted: "Successful programs for assuring a smooth transition from hospital to home must involve the patient's family caregivers." (December 21, 2009)
In this podcast, Helen Osborne, a health literacy expert and creator of the website Health Literacy Out Loud, interviews Carol Levine, director of the Families and Health Care Project, about how the Next Step in Care guides were developed. Ms. Osborne was a consultant on Next Step in Care. (September 22, 2009).
In response to a USA Today article about the increasing number of discharged patients who are returning to the Emergency Department, Carol Levine penned a letter to the editor underscoring the critical role family caregivers can play in reducing unnecessary readmissions if they can be trained more effectively. (September 11-13,2009)
In a guest commentary on the New America Media website, Carol Levine observes that long-term care and the essential role of family caregivers are striking omissions from current discussions of health reform. She writes, “As long as family caregiving is described and measured as ‘informal’ domestic chores, the traditional dismissive view of women’s work, it will not be appropriately valued.” (August 13, 2009)
The Family Caregiver Alliance, a community-based nonprofit organization that addresses the needs of family caregivers, has issued a new fact sheet on hospital discharge planning. The fact sheet covers the basics of a discharge plan, why it is important, and the family caregiver's role in the process. It includes questions about discharges to home, follow-up care, and a caregiver's self-assessment, adapted from Next Step in Care, as well as additional references.
PainPathways, a magazine for acute, chronic, and cancer pain management, provides information and resources to patients and family caregivers. The summer issue features Carol Levine's caregiving journey, which led to the creation of United Hospital Fund's Families and Health Care Project and the Next step in Care campaign.
A New York Times column by Maggie Jones summarizes advice from experts, including Ariella Peist of the Fund's Families and Health Care Project, about planning for hospital discharges. Ms. Jones concludes that Next Step in Care is "one of the best" websites that offers resources about discharge planning. (May 13, 2009)
A front-page New York Times article by Pam Belluck, "In Turnabout, Children Take Caregiver Role," looks at America's child caregivers, focusing on several living in Florida and quoting Carol Levine about opportunities and challenges facing these children. (February 23, 2009)
A New York Times column by Jane Gross focuses on the launch of the Next Step in Care website and concludes, "I suspect many caregivers will find the new Web site extraordinarily useful." (January 15, 2009)
A Wall Street Journal column by Melinda Beck offering advice for family caregivers quotes Carol Levine and identifies the Next Step in Care website as a resource. (January 13, 2009)
United Hospital Fund issues a press release announcing the launch of the Next Step in Care website. (January 13, 2009)
Warning that the troubled economy will hit family caregivers hard, an essay written by Carol Levine is published in Albany’s Times-Union. (December 5, 2008)
From Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns includes a chapter, “Family Caregiving,” written by Carol Levine. The chapter is one of 36 in the book, which is available online in its entirely. (December 4, 2008)
Carol Levine is interviewed on WAQY-FM’s “Bax & O’Brien Show” about the growing presence of men as family caregivers. (December 3, 2008) [Note: The interview runs approximately 15 minutes.]
Caring.com interviews Carol Levine: “What Policymakers Can Do for Caregivers.” (December 3, 2008)
The New York Times publishes its article “More Men Take the Lead Role in Caring for Elderly Parents.” (November 29, 2008)
Next Step in Care materials are included in the Upstate New York Transition Care Collaborative. (November 10, 2008)