Rural caregivers -- and particularly women who provide the majority of informal caregiving -- face unique challenges in providing care to loved ones as a result of fewer formal services, lack of medical specialists, transportation difficulties, and weather problems in winter, geographic distance and isolation. While these issues may compound the challenges facing caregivers, rural communities can foster stronger informal networks among family, friends and neighbors to lend a helping hand.

To address these issues, the Family Caregiver Alliance received support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to build on the extensive experience of FCA and the California Caregiver Resource Centers in providing training and education to caregivers in the rural northeastern portion of the state. The overall goal of the project, The Northern California Rural Caregiver Education Collaborative, is to build a collaborative network of health, home and community-based service providers, educational institutions, technology networks, community organizations and caregivers to expand the capacity of existing systems to provide high quality education and training to underserved rural caregivers. In March 2006, FCA brought their learnings to a national meeting as they held a workshop on rural caregiving at the annual meeting of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging.

Recognizing that family caregivers provide important societal and financial contributions toward maintaining the well-being of those they care for, the National Caregiver Alliance's mission is to be the objective national resource on family caregiving with the goal of improving the quality of life for families and care recipients. The health and well-being of the caregivers themselves are often overlooked. The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation joined the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in supporting the 2006 Caregiver Health Conference by providing a grant of $25,000 to the NCA. The Conference on Caregiver Health as a Public Health Issue took place in September 2006 in Washington, D.C. The conference drew over 80 participants from health agencies, foundations, healthcare provider organizations, caregiver service organizations and advocates, and presented different solutions to support and improve caregivers’ health.