PHOENIX, AZ, JULY 18, 2023 – OpusVi, a leading workforce development solutions provider backed by CommonSpirit Health, Providence Health, and Premier Inc., that exclusively enables healthcare systems and organizations to upskill and retain top talents, today announced that it has been selected as grantee of the CalGrows Innovation Fund to deploy OpusVi’s Essentials of Person-Centered Memory Care program. Through this fund, OpusVi will support direct care and Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) workforce organizations in their journey to provide care to Californians living with dementia.
Registration for this course is now open to caregivers working with older adults and people with disabilities, helping support Californians on a path to a career in health care.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia — A growing care problem
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than six million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer's. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.
OpusVi’s Essentials of Person-Centered Memory Care program, originally developed in partnership with CHI Living Communities and CommonSpirit Health's Vice President of Clinical Operations, Dr. Ja’Nay Crippen-Derry, RN, focuses on a caregiver's essential role in person-centered care, the stages of dementia, emotional intelligence, communication approaches, health disparities, cultural humility and LGBTQ+ communities, challenging behavior strategies, facilitating touch, and approaching infection control. This program sets caregivers up for career advancement as individuals who complete this program successfully are eligible to take the certification exam with the Alzheimer’s Association to become essentiALZ® certified, further supporting those caregivers who are committed to advancing their impact within this field.
OpusVi has taken strategic steps to deploy widely its Essentials of Person-Centered Memory Care program to care providers who work with people with memory care loss to more than 690,000 Californians living with dementia.
“A dementia diagnosis can take a devastating emotional and physical toll on caregivers who don’t have readily available access to dementia education, and who are often already facing systemic inequities themselves,” says Andrew Malley, CEO at OpusVi. “OpusVi is committed to working with caregivers and senior care organizations across California to offer world class education, but by proxy of our work with CalGrows, we are also able to improve access and equity by taking away the financial burden faced by many. We are incredibly supportive and proud of this work.”
The initial launch will support nearly 3,000 caregivers, with assistance from the State of California through the CalGrows Fund
CalGrows seeks to help build individual skill sets, job satisfaction, and growth opportunities, helping further careers and the retention of skilled, experienced caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities.
Free training, along with personalized coaching, is available for paid direct care workers, HCBS caregivers, and unpaid family and friend caregivers through the CalGrows website at www.calgrows.org. OpusVi’s Essentials of Person-Centered Memory Care program is offered online, and learning content will be translated into four additional languages (Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog) to provide inclusive delivery to the most common languages spoken in the state.
OpusVi is one of 76 organizations across California that received a grant through the CalGrows Innovation Fund earlier this year. Grants were awarded to diverse organizations with innovative ideas to offer training and incentives for the direct care Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) workforce and unpaid family and friend caregivers.
