MADISON, Wis. — UW-Madison will open the Badger Caregiving Clinic next week, offering free support to unpaid caregivers through in-person and telehealth services. The clinic will initially serve UW Health patients who receive care at the E Terrace Drive Medical Center. Patients at other UW Health locations and people who are not UW Health patients are not currently eligible. Services will include emotional and social support, take-home resources, individualized caregiving plans and education on caregiving practices. Students, faculty and staff from UW-Madison health and social-service programs will work together to provide the support. More than 60 million people across the United States and over 1 million Wisconsin residents provide unpaid care to a family member or friend, according to the university. “Caregivers are the backbone of our healthcare system, and too often they are invisible,” said Beth Fields, the clinic’s co-director and an associate professor of occupational therapy at the UW-Madison School of Education. She said the clinic aims to help caregivers support both their relatives and themselves. Jennifer Timm, the clinic’s other co-director and a clinical associate professor at the UW-Madison School of Nursing, said the program will also strengthen caregiving education for current and future health professionals. The university’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research supported the clinic with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.