Home Care Companions’ (HCC) mission is to enable people living with a life-threatening illness to receive sufficient, appropriate, and affordable health care in their own homes, by training families, friends and partners in basic home care nursing skills.

Home Care Companions (HCC) was founded in 1988 by a group of friends caring for a person living with AIDS at home. Their first-hand experience (providing around-the-clock care) convinced them of the great need for practical training in home care skills. They developed a curriculum that was reviewed, and embraced, by service providers throughout the Bay Area. HCC held its first patient / caregiver training in April 1988 at the University of California at San Francisco.

HCC was the first institution in the U.S. to focus exclusively on practical skills training in home care for non-professional caregivers. Since 1988, HCC has provided FREE classes to more than 1,900 caregivers in the San Francisco Bay Area. HCC has helped many other service organizations -- from throughout the United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe -- by consulting in program and curriculum development, and by conducting 'training the trainer' classes. Through these collaborations, we estimate that HCC's training techniques and strategies have reached more than 25,000 caregivers worldwide.

Today, HCC is able to reach and teach caregivers through a network of more than 400 service organizations, hospitals, clinics, medical practices, and churches. We offer comprehensive training to caregivers coping with many life-threatening illnesses -- especially AIDS, Cancer or Brain Tumors. A few of the major changes that HCC has made over the years are highlighted below.

• 1988 -- HCC holds its first home care training at the University of California at San Francisco.
  
• 1993 -- began to teach home care skills training techniques to nurses from Japan (i.e., 'training the trainer'.)
  
• 1995 -- initiated classes in the East Bay focused on AIDS home care for women and within communities of color.
  
• 1996 -- held first training of medical care professionals from Africa (Ghana, Zaire, Uganda, Ethiopia.)
  
• 1997 -- broadened curriculum to serve people living with Cancer and their caregivers.
  
• 1997 -- helped the AIDS Council of New South Wales develop an Australian AIDS home care training program.
  
• 1998 -- started ongoing patient/caregiver trainings in partnership with the National Brain Tumor Foundation.
  
• 1998 -- certified by California State Board of Vocational Nursing to offer 18 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) for Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA.)
  
• 1999 -- began partnership with UCSF to train patients and caregivers coping with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cancer.
  
• 2000 -- HCC founder Celi Adams, RN, is named one of America's 10 outstanding leaders in community health by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Community Health Leadership Program.

Celi Adams, RN, ONC (Founder / Clinical Director) has more than 20 years of experience in nursing, specializing in AIDS and cancer. She has trained more than 1,900 people living with a life threatening illness, and their caregivers, over the past 11 years. Having trained caregivers from throughout the U.S. -- and medical professionals from Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia -- she has earned an international reputation in home care training. To contact: mailto:hcc1988@aol.com

Kevin Murphy (Executive Director) is a former Silicon Valley executive, with more than 20 years of experience in information management, technical training, R & D, and project planning. He has been an active community volunteer for more than 30 years, is an experienced home caregiver, and a past HCC course participant. Over the past dozen years, he has helped to champion the work of many Bay Area nonprofits, including the AIDS Emergency Fund, CompuMentor, Shanti, and Episcopal Community Services. To contact: mailto:hcc1988@aol.com

Stephen McNeil (Board President) is a Regional Director with American Friends Service Committee -- a thoroughly experienced writer, trainer, fund raiser and home caregiver -- and a past HCC course participant. He has also helped lead the AIDS Emergency Fund (as Vice President) and Family Link.

Elaine Swinyer, RN (Board Vice President) chairs HCC's Program Committee. A Registered Nurse, with a Masters in Public Administration, Elaine is a specialist in Claims Management and Utilization with Kaiser Permanente.

Lutrell Jolly(Board Vice President) is a mental health counselor / social worker for California Pacific Medical Center (on leave to complete his doctorate.) He presents HCC's AIDS Community Resources classes, is an experienced home caregiver, and helps design HCC's community outreach campaigns.

Richard Woodul, II (Treasurer) is a CPA with John McKean & Co., specializing in nonprofit accounting. He is an experienced home caregiver, and a past HCC course participant.

Sandra Price, JD (Board Secretary) is an attorney with Cooley Godward, specializing in estates, estate planning, and probate administration. She presents many of HCC's Legal Issues classes.

John Bransten (Board Member) is President of Bransten Management Company and a member of HCC's Development Committee. He served on Stanford's School of Business Alumni Consulting Team to help HCC determine how to pursue working partnerships with HMO's and the insurance industry.

Linda C. Williams, Esq. (Legal Counsel) is a practicing attorney with Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro.

HCC relies entirely on the generosity of individual donors, foundations, and corporations to support its Home Care Skills Training programs. We receive no government funding. Thanks to the generous support of the institutions listed below, HCC has been able to offer FREE classes since 1988. We couldn't continue our work without them. The caregivers we train are grateful. So are we.

Home Care Companions currently offers comprehensive practical skills trainings to cope with three major life-threatening illnesses -- AIDS, Cancer and Brain Tumors. They are designed specifically for the families, friends and partners of a person living at home. We also encourage patients (who are often caring for themselves) -- and our colleagues at community service organizations -- to take our classes. Classes are FREE. They are generally 3 hours long, and are held on weekday evenings at a Bay Area hospital, service agency, or church. For detailed information on our disease-specific classes, click on one of the of the trainings below.

HCC welcomes the opportunity to assist other service agencies. We can help you develop a home care training program for your organization, or help you to enhance an existing program. For more information, please call us at (415) 824-3269 or email us at mailto:hcc1988@aol.com.

GUEST SPEAKERS

HCC can provide your organization with a guest speaker to address a wide range of topics concerning home care. We will also be happy to speak at your place of business to introduce you to our training programs for caregivers. For more information, please call us at (415) 824-3269 or email us at mailto:hcc1988@aol.com