The VA Caregiver Support Line: A Gateway of Support for Caregivers of Veterans |
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| Authors: | Pamela Wright Cari Malcolm Bret Hicken Rand Rupper |
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| Affiliation: | 1. VA Caregiver Support Line, Canandaigua, New York, USAPamela.Wright2@va.gov;3. VA Caregiver Support Line, Canandaigua, New York, USA;4. Veterans Rural Health Resource Center–Western Region, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;5. VA Salt Lake City Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |
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| Abstract: | In passing the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, Congress created a legislative mandate for the Veterans Administration (VA) to strengthen its program of support services for caregivers of veterans. As part of this expansion, the VA implemented a nationwide toll-free telephone Caregiver Support Line (CSL). The CSL is a single point of entry system to link caregivers to national and local services to support care of a veteran. This article describes the CSL and its role in supporting aging veterans and their caregivers, discusses social workers’ contributions to its development and implementation, and reports utilization data. |
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| Keywords: | caregivers veterans telephone support lines |
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