The Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation is using a state grant to expand its aid for caregivers of Long Island residents suffering from memory-loss diseases.
The money from the state Department of Health will allow the New Hyde Park-based health-care and nursing group to provide support and resources for 1,000 relatives of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia patients in Nassau and Suffolk Counties through a new “Caregiver Support Initiative.”
The initiative will provide consultations, case management, support groups, educational resources and respite for the family caregivers, according to a statement announcing the program.
Parker will also enlist and train 300 volunteers to provide basic care for the Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, allowing the caretakers to “take a break” and attend to personal needs, the statement said.
The Institute’s “Willing Hearts, Helpful Hands” program has provided similar support for Alzheimer’s caregivers in Queens and western Nassau for eight years.
Funding for the Caregiver Support Initiative comes from a statewide effort to increase access to resources for New York’s 1 million family caregivers who provide 1.1 billion hours of unpaid memory-loss care each year, Parker’s statement said.
The Parker Jewish Institute is a non-profit that offers short term rehabilitation, sub-acute care and nursing home care, as well as community-based health care, encompassing adult day health care, the Granat Alzheimer Center, home health care, and a hospice program that serves terminally ill patients in their own homes or in nursing facilities, including Parker’s nursing home.