SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento County today introduced a breakthrough solution for the elderly, their families, caregivers and service providers called Network of Care, a community-based Web site that provides comprehensive long-term care services, information and education that is significant to the more than 186,000 seniors who live here.
Initiated by Sacramento County Department of Aging and Adult Services and funded with a Long-Term Care Innovation Grant from the California Department of Aging, the new Web site, Network of Care (sacramento.networkofcare.org), is a pilot program for California and the nation to improve and better coordinate long-term care services locally.
“What we’re doing will make a huge difference in the lives of the elderly who live in Sacramento County,” said Jim Hunt, director, Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services. “By providing people with this valuable online resource, they will be able to make greater use of local resources and remain in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. As I have discovered from my own experiences in caring for my Mother, who lives at home with her husband, also her primary caretaker, Network of Care will alter the course of her life in a very positive way. For example, I will now have easy and secured access to her personal medical, legal and financial records, and can step in at any point to relieve my stepfather and not miss a beat in caring and providing for her. My family feels very fortunate that this new resource will make this easily possible.”
The Network of Care website provides a comprehensive directory of the approximately 800 service providers in Sacramento, putting people in touch with the right services at the right time. Network of Care also provides easy to search databases and vital information about diseases, situations, assistive devices and care giving; daily news from around the world concerning aging and disabilities that are informative and educational; as well as the tools for customers to track legislative bills that affect their lives and communicate with lawmakers before they vote.
To increase accessibility and accommodate Network of Care’s customers, the site’s innovative technology provides near universal access, regardless of literacy or income level, to web-based services through voice-to-web technology and other adaptive technologies including, scalable large and small font sizes. When phase 2 of the pilot project is completed, planned for Q1 2003, Network of Care will also provide the ability for automatic online translation of its content into 14 different languages and be ABA compliant.
Service providers also can share challenges and ideas, as well as create powerful new mechanisms to better serve seniors, by embracing Network of Care’s communication tools such as message boards and chat rooms. Service providers can even build their own websites in this channel.
Network of Care's vision and extensive offerings are driven by a public/private collaboration between the state of California, Sacramento and Alameda counties and Trilogy Integrated Resources in partnership with Local Communities Network, Inc.
About Network of Care
Network of Care (networkofcare.org) is a comprehensive, Internet-based community resource for the elderly and people with disabilities, as well as their caregivers and service providers. In 2001, Network of Care was funded with a Long-Term Care Innovation Grant from the California Department of Aging for Sacramento and Alameda counties in partnership with Trilogy Integrated Resources, Inc. and Local Communities Network, Inc. The Network of Care project is part of a broad effort to improve and better coordinate long-term care services in the United States.