Elder & Adult Care

Providing care for a loved one can add pressure to an already demanding university career and family life. Cornell provides a work/life consultant service to staff, faculty, students, and retirees. The consultant can help with locating adult/elder care resources in the community and assist caregivers who are providing care from a distance. Contact consultant Ruth Merle-Doyle in Work/Life, at 607-255-1917 or rem64@cornell.edu.

Resources

  • Caregiver Support & Education Network (CSEN): Monthly meetings to learn and share strategies and tools for coping with stress, caregiver guilt, and burnout, as well as information on local and national resources. Contact Ruth Merle-Doyle for more details.
  • Elder/Adult Care Newsletter: Monthly newsletter to learn about on and off-campus activities, events, services, and articles of interest to Cornell faculty, staff, students, and retirees regarding elder/adult care and caregiving.
  • Elder Care E-List (type “join” in the subject): Receive and send emails that connect you with other caregivers and local resources.

Wellness

  • Care.com Membership: Locate caregivers to help aging or disabled adults with companionship, errands, housekeeping, and more with a free Cornell-sponsored Care.com membership.
  • Healthy Aging: Fitness & wellness classes designed for every size, shape, age, and ability; great for individuals who have had a joint replacement, suffer from arthritis, want to improve balance, etc.

Financial Assistance

  • Dependent Care Reimbursement Account:  This benefit helps you reduce your out-of-pocket expenses by taking advantage of a federal law that gives you an immediate tax break when paying for dependent care services covered under the program.
  • Faculty Dependent Care Travel Fund:  Offers tenure track and tenured faculty up to $1,000 ($1,500 for dependent children with special needs) per academic year in direct expenses for dependent-care expenses incurred while traveling to attend professional meetings, conferences, workshops, and professional development opportunities.
  • Long-Term Care Insurance:  Benefit designed to cover costs associated with extended long-term care due to a chronic disease or long-lasting disability.
  • Travel Assistance to NYC for Medical and Other Emergencies: The Emergency CARE Fund provides round-trip bus tickets on the Campus-to-Campus Bus to current employees.