The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Philips will co-host the Fifth Annual National Convening on Veteran Caregivers, “Caregivers at the Forefront: Supporting Caregivers in Times of Challenge” on October 19, 12 pm – 5 pm ET through a virtual program that is free and open to the public.
This annual event has become a focal point for national leaders, subject matter experts, advocates, and practitioners concerned with veterans’ care and caregiver support. Senator Elizabeth Dole will open the event, sharing a vision for empowering communities to further assist veteran caregivers at the local level. The Honorable Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, will provide an update on the VA’s efforts to better support caregivers and assist them in caring for their loved ones.
A full agenda can be found here. Highlights of the event include:
- Keynote by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
- Remarks by Fox News Anchor Harris Faulkner, the daughter of a retired lieutenant colonel and author of the book “9 Rules of Engagement: A Military Brat’s Guide to Life and Success.”
- Commentary from Philips Connected Care executive, Paula Cobb, on the growing role that digital health technology plays in helping ease the ever-increasing stress for caregivers.
- Updates from the Foundation, VA, and USAA on the Campaign for Inclusive Care’s successful pilot program launched in January 2020 and plans to expand the program in the year ahead. To date, hundreds of VA clinicians and staff have taken part in thousands of hours of training to better integrate caregivers into the clinical care team across VA facilities. The pilot has shown a significant increase in provider confidence, desire, and need to practice inclusive care.
- Announcement from Senator Elizabeth Dole, CareLinx, Wounded Warrior Project, and others about nationwide expansion of critical, no-cost direct service available to military and veteran caregivers amid COVID-19.
- Mental Health Panel featuring Dr. Rajeev Ramchand, RAND Corporation Advisor for Psychiatric Epidemiology & Suicide Prevention, National Institute Mental Health and Dr. Matt Miller, Director for Suicide Prevention, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Announcement from Booz Allen Hamilton about their Epimaps platform that uses data analytics to identify highly-concentrated veteran caregiver communities and help partners better anticipate caregiver needs, which debuted at last year’s convening.
The convening will also include an online Innovation Showcase to highlight new advances to help military and veteran caregivers.
Select speakers are available for interviews surrounding the event. Please make requests to Austin Courtney at Austin@elizabethdolefoundation.org.
Speakers include:
- Senator Elizabeth Dole, Founder, Elizabeth Dole Foundation
- Robert Wilkie, Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- For interview requests, please contact VA Public Affairs (VAPublicAffairs@va.gov)
- Paula Cobb, Head of Global Strategic Marketing, Connected Care Solutions, Philips
- Steve Schwab, CEO, Elizabeth Dole Foundation
- Dr. Lynda Davis, Chief Veterans Experience Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Lisa Pape, Executive Director of Care Management and Social Work, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Dr. Kevin Vigilante, Chief Medical Officer, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Dole Caregiver Fellows from across the nation
The National Convening is possible thanks to presenting sponsor Philips, and additional supporters including American Airlines, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cerner, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hilton, Humana Military, Prudential, TriWest, USAA, and Wounded Warrior Project
Registration and day of streaming can be found here.
The National Convening is a part of a month of virtual events hosted by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation that will virtually bring military caregivers, local, state, and federal leaders together from across the country. Other events include the 3rd Annual Heroes and History Makers, featuring Actor Tom Hanks, TODAY Co-Host Savannah Guthrie and Award Winning Country Artist Tim McGraw on October 20 at 8pm ET. Military and veteran caregivers will also have the opportunity to participate in virtual workshops and family fun activities from home from October 1-November 1.
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