Philanthropy Supports Caregivers of Stroke Patients
A 2025 grant now funds a Training Program for Caregivers of Stroke Patients Transitioning from Hospital to Home to provide personalized caregiver education.
Program: A new philanthropy-funded training program is empowering caregivers of stroke patients with tools, resources and a support network to help them care for loved ones transitioning from the hospital to their home, while reducing avoidable readmissions and caregiver burnout.
Location: UVM Medical Center main campus, Fanny Allen (site of the Stroke Caregiver Support Group) and by telephone
Challenge: A stroke is an acute event that changes the life of not only the survivor, but the person who suddenly takes on the caretaker role. Caretaker training is customarily initiated in the inpatient rehabilitation setting, but in our region, our stroke survivors are increasingly discharged directly to home and experience more frequent unplanned readmissions. A key driver of this trend is the lack of available inpatient rehabilitation beds in our area and the predominate theme of caretakers feeling unprepared for the sudden changes in their lives.
Response: The UVM Medical Center Fund (comprised of pooled gifts from the community) awards annual grants to fuel employee-led innovations in care. A 2025 grant now funds a Training Program for Caregivers of Stroke Patients Transitioning from Hospital to Home to provide personalized caregiver education plans that reflect both the stroke survivors’ needs and the capabilities and limitations of the caretaker.
Plans include, but are not limited to, activating additional hospital and community resources, assuring readiness of the home environment, providing skills training for daily life activities and planning for self-care. Most of the caretaker training is conducted while the patient is still in the hospital, but after discharge, periodic telephone check-ins are performed with the caregivers to address needs or questions. In partnership with Stroke Caretaker Advocate, Nikki Juvan, mentoring and a new Stroke Caretaker Support Group are also available.
Make a gift or contact Shelby McGarry to explore how your philanthropic investment could further assist patients facing neurologic changes.
The funds received from the UVM Medical Center grant have had a tremendous impact on the training of the stroke caretaker. We can utilize more technology and hands-on simulation to help the caretaker feel comfortable performing complex care interventions that are often necessary post stroke.
