Special Projects Fund

Grantee Name

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Funding Area

Special Projects Fund

Publication Date

September 2008

Grant Amount

$149,814

Grant Date:

January 2007 – December 2007

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Challenges to improving depression management in home care range from organizational factors—such as a scarcity of mental health specialists—to patient factors—such as difficulty in assessing depression among patients who are seriously ill or disabled.

The project worked with discharged hospital patients who needed short-term home health services to promote their recovery.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

  • Data from the agencies’ clinical information systems suggest that 59% of the patients who were depressed upon starting care were no longer depressed at the end of their home health care visits.
  • The percentage remaining depressed was lower among patients cared for by CAREPATH-trained nurses (35%) versus those cared for by nurses not trained in CAREPATH (46%), a statistically significant difference indicating that CAREPATH contributes to improved patient outcomes.