Welcome to the Caring Collaborative, an innovative model for aging in community developed by members of The Transition Network.  Funded by the New York State Health Foundation, the TTN Caring Collaborative is a two-year demonstration project designed to show how a program of strategic assistance offered by friends and neighbors can effectively help women handle emerging health issues, thereby avoiding more expensive interventions and improve overall outcomes.

The TTN Caring Collaborative was designed, developed and implemented by a volunteer committee of TTN members. It mobilizes the good will that exists within TTN’s peer group network and using a “time bank” assigns value to ad hoc support, like bringing in a home-cooked meal to a neighbor that is sick or accompanying a friend to an outpatient procedure.  It allows people to benefit from the health care experiences of others, like what to expect during breast cancer treatment or how to optimize recovery following knee replacement surgery.   And it allows people to plan for that rainy day – when an accidental fall or unexpected diagnosis compromises one’s independence. 

Since the TTN Caring Collaborative officially launched in October 2008, more than 200 members have enthusiastically joined.  They are helping TTN test the program concept and components (see below) in order to create a scalable model for other informal communities.  “How to” manuals describing TTN’s experience will be available at the conclusion of the demonstration project in December 2009. 

Currently, the TTN Caring Collaborative is only open to NYC chapter members. 

• TTN Caring Collaborative Model

1. Service Corps where TTN members provide assistance to peers with health-related needs (i.e. escorts to health care/dental providers, companionship, pet walking, meals, paperwork, etc);

2. Member Information Exchange (MIX) where members who have had a particular health problem can share their experience with another member and/or provide recommendations about physicians, health care providers and programs, or alternative and complementary health care providers;

3. Health Services Time Bank to facilitate the exchange of information and services and document transactions; those providing services will receive credit to be applied when they, in turn, need help;

4. Health/Wellness Resource Directory that links to a wide variety of resources for information on health related topics and sources for obtaining additional outside services, such as food delivery, legal council, home care, etc.;

5. A Vertical Villages model; outlining steps to create intergenerational caring communities within high-rise buildings;

6. Manuals (3) outlining steps to creating a Caring Collaborative Time Bank for other peer groups (i.e. churches, unions); “how to” develop Vertical Villages; and guide to discharge planning. 

7. Evaluation Plan to demonstrate the value of peer networks in the well being of women aging in community.
    

• Program Partners

An overarching goal of the Caring Collaborative is to integrate self help within formal systems of health care.  TTN engaged the support of health care partners so Caring Collaborative services would address existing gaps and augment what is already available in the formal health care system.  Program partners include the following:

• Visiting Nurse Services of New York

• St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital

• ReServe

• Department for the Aging in New York City. 
   

• TTN Caring Collaborative Steering Committee

The TTN Caring Collaborative is governed by volunteers committees.  More than 50 TTN members from diverse backgrounds in medicine, law, social work, journalism and government have volunteered their time to shape, build and sustain this program over a three year period.  There is a tremendous sense of ownership and pride in the program which has been critical to its success.  
 
Joan Bacchus 

Nora Bleich

Sally Dougan

Charlotte Frank

Anita Kane

Natalie Kaplan

Diana Killip

Jane McCarthy

Lynn Minton

Hila Richardson

Jane Young (*in Memoriam)

To contact the TTN Caring Collaborative: For more information or with questions, please contact Laura Traynor, Program Manager. Laura@TTNCaringCollaborative.org. or call 646-823-6321.