OAKLAND, Calif. – Alameda County today introduced a breakthrough solution for the elderly, people with disabilities, caregivers and service providers called Network of Care, a multilingual, community-based Web site that provides comprehensive long-term care services, information and education that is significant to the more than 300,000 seniors and persons with disabilities who live in our county.
Initiated by Alameda and Sacramento counties and funded with a Long-Term Care Innovation Grant from the California Department of Aging, Network of Care (www.alameda.networkofcare.org), is a pilot program for California and the nation. To empower seniors and their caregivers, Network of Care helps people find the right service at the right time, educate themselves about their issues, find assistive devices, understand current policy initiatives and advocate directly to elected officials, and help them manage their affairs, interactions, and important records. The end goal is to help the community age with dignity.
“Network of Care is an incredibly important project for the elderly and people with disabilities in Alameda County and all of California,” said Assembly member Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee. “This Web site provides a tremendous service to our citizens. Network of Care will help people find the resources they need without having to waste a lot of time searching. It also will provide invaluable assistance to service providers, who must serve their clients within a fragmented system. With the launching of Network of Care, Alameda County leads the way in empowering seniors and people with disabilities to lead independent lives.”
"I am excited that the Network of Care is launching its Web site," said Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker. "As our senior population continues to grow, it is vitally important that we expand and improve upon the services and programs that we provide to older adults. This valuable resource will increase access and knowledge of existing services and will enable more people to communicate to each other about their interests and concerns connected to long-term care."
The Network of Care Web site provides a comprehensive directory of the approximately 800 service providers in Alameda County, putting people in touch with the right services at the right time. Network of Care also provides easy-to-search databases and vital information about diseases, situations and care giving, as well as daily news from around the world concerning aging and disabilities that are informative and educational.
To increase accessibility and accommodate Network of Care’s customers, the site’s innovative technology provides near universal access, regardless of literacy or income level, to web-based services through voice-to-web technology and other adaptive technologies, including scalable large and small font sizes. When phase two of the pilot project is completed, planned for Q1 2003, Network of Care will also provide the ability for automatic online translation of its content into 14 different languages and be ADA compliant.
Service providers also can share challenges and ideas, as well as create powerful new mechanisms to better serve seniors, by embracing Network of Care’s communication tools such as message boards and chat rooms. Service providers can even build their own Web sites in this channel.
Network of Care's vision and extensive offerings are driven by a public/private collaboration between the state of California, Alameda and Sacramento counties and Trilogy Integrated Resources in partnership with Local Communities Network, Inc.
About Network of Care
Network of Care (networkofcare.org) is a comprehensive, Internet-based community resource for the elderly and people with disabilities, as well as their caregivers and service providers. In 2001, Network of Care was funded with a Long-Term Care Innovation Grant from th