LEXINGTON, Ky. – Each fall, the UK College of Social Work Medically Complex Training Program welcomes caregivers from across the Commonwealth to participate in a three-part training session, equipping families with the tools and information needed to care for children in out-of-home care with complex medical needs.
This training, happening twice a year, takes place over Zoom, as well as an in-person training event in Lexington, Kentucky. This fall’s in-person training saw caregivers and nurses attend and featured seven highly qualified speakers:
James Liau, MD – Cleft Palate
Dana Davidson – Disability Resources
Sanaz Dovell, MD – Menstrual Management
Christopher Azbell, MD – Pediatric Otolaryngology
Tess Thomas, PhD – Transition to Adult Care
Christine Hausman – Developmental Milestone Tracking
Lisal Folsom, MD – Diabetes Care
The statewide, annual training event provides 12 hours of ongoing training credit. Foster and adoptive parents can select from a variety of training topics, allowing them to choose the information most relevant to the needs of the child in their care.
“I hope that parents take home two important ideas from our training. First, that this training allows them to take care of their medically complex foster children with more expertise,” Dave Giannini, Medically Complex Training Program Coordinator, said. “Additionally, I hope that, in the event that they take on more medically complex children in the future, they will be prepared with more knowledge about different disorders and struggles.”
Since 2003, the program has developed, coordinated, and conducted this type of training for foster and adoptive parents and social service workers statewide. The guidelines for training content are established by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) Standards of Practice, as well as Kentucky law.
“Our annual trainings are the highlight of my year in this profession. However, it must be mentioned that I do not manage these completely on my own. Without the help of many volunteers on staff, expert speakers giving of their time, and our wonderful partnership with DCBS, none of this would be possible,” Giannini shared.
For more information on the Medically Complex Training program, please visit the program’s website or reach out to Dave Giannini at dave.giannini@uky.edu.