Caregiver Action Network Launches Family Caregiver ECHO® to Provide Family Caregivers in Medically Underserved Areas with Interactive Online Mentoring and Support

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Caregiver Action Network (CAN) announced today the launch of Family Caregiver ECHO^®, a new program that will provide family caregivers in globally underserved areas with the opportunity to receive real-time, face-to-face online training and support in a virtual classroom.

"The new Family Caregiver ECHO^® will provide a new tool to family caregivers in medically underserved areas, many of whom don't know where to turn for information and support as they care for their loved ones," said John Schall, Chief Executive Officer of Caregiver Action Network. "Caregivers usually receive little or no training for the work that they do. Family Caregiver ECHO^® will help get important knowledge to the right place at the right time to those who need it most. We believe that Family Caregiver ECHO^® will change the caregiving landscape, providing support to caregivers in the U.S. and ultimately around the world." 

Family Caregiver ECHO^® follows the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model, a transformative model of medical education and health care delivery that expands treatment capacity in rural and medically underserved areas – places in which residents have a shortage of health services. Project ECHO^® leverages tele-mentoring to share knowledge between specialists and primary care clinicians working in rural and urban underserved areas.

Through the program, family caregivers who experience a shortage of local resources to get help and support will now be able to receive them from caregiving experts through the Internet. In so doing, it will create new opportunities outside the limits of geographic isolation or other reasons for their area's underserved status.

Caregiver Action Network is leading the way in applying the ECHO model™ to fulfill the often-overlooked needs of caregivers around the world. It will enable caregivers to join an online ECHO^® session from the comfort of their own home, at the time of their choosing. Caregivers can join Family Caregiver ECHO^® using any device: laptop, cell phone, or even a landline.

"We are proud to be involved in Caregiver Action Network's unique approach to supporting caregivers through Project ECHO^®," said Gary Zieziula, President and Managing Director, EMD Serono, North America. "We are committed to supporting efforts like Project ECHO and our overall support of caregivers through Embracing Carers™ as we believe the challenges facing caregivers are some of the most critical public health issues of our time."

About Embracing Carers™
Embracing Carers™ is a global initiative led by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, operating as EMD Serono, EMD MilliporeSigma, and EMD Performance Materials in the United States and Canada. It is a collaboration with leading caregiver organizations around the world designed to increase awareness, discussion, and action about the often-overlooked needs of caregivers. Given that caregivers need support and often do not know where to turn for help, Embracing Carers™ was created to help fill that void.

About Caregiver Action Network
Caregiver Action Network (CAN) is the nation's leading family caregiver organization working to improve the quality of life for the more than 90 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, disease, or the frailties of old age. CAN serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers ranging from the parents of children with special needs, to the families and friends of wounded soldiers; from a young couple dealing with a diagnosis of MS, to adult children caring for parents with Alzheimer's disease. CAN (the National Family Caregivers Association) is a non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Ricci 
[email protected] 
(202) 930-3293

SOURCE EMD Serono