A Commitment to Professional Caregivers: the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Human Development

When the term caregiver is used, one most often thinks about family caregivers and other informal providers of assistance to impaired individuals. The Rosalynn Carter Institute (RCI) is the only national institute or center to take a different approach to addressing the needs of the nation's caregivers and caregiving teams. The universal psychosocial difficulties and shared rewards associated with all types of caregiving shape the research, education, and advocacy agendas of the RCI, founded in honor of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. This article provides an introduction to the work of the RCI that may be of interest to gerontologic nurse caregivers.