caregiver-coordination

name	caregiver-coordination
description	Produces care team coordination systems including task assignment templates, communication logs, care team meeting agendas, shared calendar structures, and emergency contact trees for managing elder care across multiple caregivers. Generates role-based responsibility matrices and handoff protocols to prevent gaps in care coverage. Use when the user asks about coordinating care among family members, organizing caregiver responsibilities, or setting up a care team system. Do NOT use for medical care planning (consult the physician care team), evaluating care facilities (use care-facility-evaluation), or managing caregiver stress (use caregiver-burnout-prevention).
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"foundry-skills","version":"1.0.0","tags":"elder-care planning template","category":"family-relationships","subcategory":"caregiving","depends":"","disclaimer":"none","difficulty":"intermediate"}

Caregiver Coordination System

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• User asks about coordinating care responsibilities among family members
• User wants to organize a care team for an aging parent or relative
• User needs templates for tracking caregiver tasks and communication
• User asks about setting up care team meetings or handoff protocols
• User wants to distribute caregiving responsibilities more fairly or clearly

Do NOT use this skill when:

• User needs medical care planning or treatment coordination (physician care team manages this)
• User wants to evaluate care facilities (use care-facility-evaluation)
• User asks about caregiver stress or burnout (use caregiver-burnout-prevention)
• User needs medication management systems (use caregiver-medication-management)
• User asks about legal or financial planning for elder care (use elder-care-legal-triggers)

Process

1. Identify all care team members. Map everyone involved in providing or supporting care:

   Role	Person	Availability	Primary Responsibilities	Contact Method
   Primary caregiver	[Name]	[Days/hours available]	[Core duties]	[Phone, text, email]
   Secondary caregiver	[Name]	[Days/hours available]	[Backup duties]	[Phone, text, email]
   Remote family member	[Name]	[Availability for calls/visits]	[Research, finances, emotional support]	[Phone, video call]
   Hired aide	[Name/Agency]	[Scheduled hours]	[Specific tasks contracted]	[Phone, agency number]
   Medical contacts	[Physician, specialists]	[Office hours]	[Medical oversight]	[Office phone, portal]
   Emergency contacts	[Names]	[24/7]	[Emergency response]	[Cell phones]

2. Build the responsibility matrix (RACI for caregiving). Assign each recurring task:

   Legend: R = Responsible (does the task), A = Accountable (ensures it gets done), C = Consulted, I = Informed

   Task Category	Task	Frequency	R	A	C	I
   Daily Care	Morning routine assistance	Daily	[Name]	[Name]
   Daily Care	Meal preparation	Daily	[Name]	[Name]
   Daily Care	Medication administration	Daily	[Name]	[Name]	[Pharmacy]
   Daily Care	Evening check-in	Daily	[Name]	[Name]		[Remote family]
   Medical

Output Format

## Care Team Coordination Plan

### Team Roster

| Role | Name | Availability | Primary Tasks | Contact |
|------|------|-------------|---------------|---------|
| [Role] | [Name] | [Schedule] | [Tasks] | [Phone/Email] |

### Responsibility Matrix

| Task | Frequency | Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed |
|------|-----------|-------------|-------------|-----------|----------|
| [Task] | [Freq] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Names] |

### Weekly Schedule

| Time Block | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|-----------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
| Morning | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] |
| Afternoon | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] |
| Evening | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] | [Name] |

### Communication Protocol
- Daily log: [location/method]
- Urgent messages: [group text number]
- Weekly check-in: [Day] at [Time], [dial-in method]
- Monthly review: [First/Last] [Day] of month at [Time]

### Handoff Protocol
[Outgoing and incoming checklists]

### Emergency Protocol
[Contact tree and emergency packet location]

Rules

1. NEVER assign medical care decisions to family caregivers -- medical decisions require physician involvement
2. ALWAYS ensure every time block on the weekly schedule has an assigned person or monitoring system -- no gaps in coverage
3. ALWAYS include a handoff protocol -- most caregiving errors happen during transitions between caregivers
4. Include both the Responsible person (does the work) and the Accountable person (ensures it is done) for every task -- single points of failure cause care gaps
5. ALWAYS include remote family members in the communication system -- exclusion breeds resentment and reduces the support network
6. The emergency contact tree must have at least 3 levels of escalation
7. Weekly check-in meetings are mandatory in the coordination plan -- informal communication alone leads to information gaps
8. Every caregiver must have access to the medication list, allergy information, and emergency contacts at all times
9. Include a backup caregiver assignment for each regular schedule slot -- illness and emergencies happen
10. Present schedules and responsibilities in table format, never in prose paragraphs

Edge Cases

• Long-distance caregiving (one or more family members are remote): Remote caregivers can handle: researching services and resources, managing finances and insurance paperwork, coordinating appointments by phone, providing emotional support via regular video calls, and hiring local services. Assign specific remote tasks in the RACI matrix. Schedule weekly video check-ins so remote members stay connected. Identify a local backup (neighbor, faith community member, hired aide) for situations that require physical presence.

• Solo primary caregiver with no family support: When one person handles nearly all caregiving, the coordination system shifts to: task tracking for the caregiver's own organization, communication templates for updating extended family or friends who offer help, a structured way to delegate specific tasks when help is offered ("Can you do the grocery run on Thursday?" is better than "Let me know if you can help"), and mandatory respite scheduling. Refer to caregiver-burnout-prevention for support.

• Disagreements among family caregivers: When family members disagree about care decisions, the coordination system provides structure, not mediation. Include: clear decision-making authority for each domain (one person makes medical appointment decisions, another handles finances), documentation of all decisions and rationale, and a monthly review where concerns are raised in a structured format. For persistent conflicts, recommend a professional geriatric care manager as a neutral coordinator.

• Hired care aide integration: When professional aides are part of the team, include: clear task boundaries (what the aide is contracted to do vs. family responsibilities), agency contact for scheduling changes, backup aide arrangements, and how the aide participates in the communication log and handoff protocol. The aide should have the same access to emergency information as family caregivers.

• Care recipient who resists coordination: When the person receiving care objects to schedules, logs, or multiple caregivers, involve them in the planning process to the extent possible. Ask their preferences for which tasks they want help with and which they want to maintain independently. Frame the system as supporting their independence rather than controlling their life. If cognitive impairment limits their participation, the healthcare proxy or primary decision-maker should be clearly identified.

Example

Input: "My siblings and I need to coordinate care for our mom who had a hip replacement. She's home from rehab but needs daily help. I'm local, my brother is 30 minutes away, and my sister lives in another state. How do we organize this?"

Output:

Care Team Coordination Plan for Mom's Post-Hip-Replacement Recovery

Team Roster

Role	Name	Availability	Primary Tasks	Contact
Primary caregiver	[User]	Mon-Fri mornings, weekday evenings	Daily care, meal prep, medication, appointments	[Phone]
Secondary caregiver	[Brother]	Weekends, Wed evenings	Weekend coverage, grocery runs, home maintenance	[Phone]
Remote support	[Sister]	Flexible for calls/research	Insurance, research, emotional support, finances	[Phone/Video]
Physical therapist	[PT name]	Per rehab schedule	Post-surgical rehabilitation exercises	[Office phone]
Physician	[Surgeon/PCP]	Office hours	Medical oversight, follow-up appointments	[Office phone]

Responsibility Matrix

Task	Frequency	R	A	C	I
Morning routine assistance	Daily	[User] M-F / [Brother] Sat-Sun	[User]		[Sister]
Medication administration	Daily	[User] M-F / [Brother] Sat-Sun	[User]	Pharmacy	[All]
PT exercise assistance	Per PT schedule	[User] M-F / [Brother] Sat-Sun	[User]	PT	[All]
Meal preparation	Daily	[User] M-F / [Brother] Sat-Sun	[User]
Doctor appointments	As scheduled	[User]	[User]	[Sister: research]	[All]
Prescription refills	As needed	[Sister] (phone/online)	[Sister]	Pharmacy	[User]
Insurance paperwork	As needed	[Sister]	[Sister]		[User, Brother]
Grocery shopping	2x/week	[Brother] Wed + Sat	[Brother]	Mom (list)
Evening check-in call	Daily	Rotating	[User]		[All]
Housekeeping	Weekly	[User] Mon / [Brother] Sat	[User]

Weekly Schedule

Time Block	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Morning (8-12)	[User]	[User]	[User]	[User]	[User]	[Brother]	[Brother]
Afternoon (12-5)	Mom independent + alert button	Mom independent + alert button	[Brother] 3-5pm	Mom independent + alert button	Mom independent + alert button	[Brother]	[Brother]
Evening (5-8)	[User]	[User]	[Brother]	[User]	[User]	[Brother]	[User]
Overnight	Alert button + [User] on-call	Alert button + [User] on-call	Alert button + [User] on-call	Alert button + [User] on-call	Alert button + [User] on-call	Alert button + [Brother] on-call	Alert button + [User] on-call

Communication Protocol

• Daily log: Shared document updated after each visit (tasks done, observations, next steps)
• Urgent messages: Family group text (all 3 siblings)
• Weekly check-in: Sunday 7:00 PM video call (all 3 siblings, 20 minutes)
• Monthly review: First Sunday of month at 6:00 PM video call (45 minutes, includes financial review and care plan assessment)
• Sister's weekly role: Calls Mom every Tue/Thu for companionship; researches any questions raised in weekly meeting; handles all insurance and pharmacy coordination by phone

Handoff Protocol (Weekend Transition)

Friday evening ([User] to [Brother]):

• [User] updates daily log with full week summary
• Confirms weekend medication pre-sorted in pill organizer
• Notes any PT exercises scheduled for weekend
• Flags any concerns from the week

Sunday evening ([Brother] to [User]):

• [Brother] updates log with weekend summary
• Reports any changes in mobility, pain level, or mood
• Confirms Monday morning medication status
• Flags anything for the weekly video call

Recovery Milestone Tracking

• Week 1-2 post-rehab: Full daily assistance needed, focus on PT compliance
• Week 3-4: Increasing independence with daily activities, reduce morning visit to check-in
• Week 6: Physician follow-up -- reassess care level needed
• Week 8-12: Transition to weekly check-ins if recovery is on track
• Reassess the full coordination plan at the 6-week physician visit