Lackawanna College Wins $25,000 Award
For Home-Based Caregiver Training Courses

Lackawanna College has been awarded a $25,000 grant by the Community College Caregiver Training Initiative of The Caregiving Project for Older Americans, funded by Metlife, to develop home-based caregiver training courses.

Twelve two-year colleges from across the nation were selected in a competitive process from over 75 applicants to develop or enhance training programs for professional and family caregivers. The other selected institutions are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Lackawanna College will use the grant to help launch an Elder Home Health Care Aide Certificate Program. The program will train professional caregivers through a 5-week intensive course which will be offered up to five times a year. In addition, the program will establish a series of abbreviated weekend and evening sessions for family members and friends who provide care to older adults.

“Increasing numbers of people are finding it difficult to obtain affordable, quality in-home care for older adults,” said Lackawanna’s Vice President for Continuing Education Dr. Ann Marie Stelma. “The college is introducing the Health Care Aide program to meet the needs of the community and to upgrade the skills and understanding of caregivers.”

She added, “We are extremely grateful to the Caregiving Project for Older Americans and the MetLife Foundation for recognizing the efforts of Lackawanna College and providing very welcome financial support.”

“Two-year and community colleges play a vital role in educating in-home caregivers as our country faces an increasing need for quality, accessible, affordable care,” said Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA and co-director of The Caregiving Project for Older Americans. “The colleges selected represent the variety of innovative training programs that promise to produce quality in-home caregivers.”