While caring for an aging family member or someone with a chronic illness, the journey will have different stages in which you will encounter different needs. There are many resources out there to support caregivers, but it can be overwhelming to sort through them...and to identify an answer to your specific problem quickly (if it takes 20 hours of research, it may seem easier to do without help).

We will share a breakdown of some of the different types of resources available to match specific needs. For customized recommendations and an analysis of your situation, contact us to learn more about our caregiver consultations.

Problem: I need some help with daily tasks for my loved one. I can't always be there to provide a ride to an appointment, grocery shopping or cleaning the house. If someone could help out for a few hours each week, it would make my job much easier.

Resources: Home Health Caregivers, such as those available through licensed home care agencies like EasyLiving, Inc. (serving seniors in Pinellas County, Florida), can help with household tasks, transportation, meal preparation, companionship and personal care. Most offer flexible, affordable plans from only a few hours a week to more extensive support when needed.

Senior transportation programs-offered through non-profits and community organizations may provide transportation to doctor's appointments or low cost public transportation for seniors or disabled individuals. You local Area Agency on Aging is the best starting point for a list of programs.

Lotsahelpinghands.org is a resource to create free, private, web-based communities for organizing friends, family, and colleagues – your ‘circles of community’ – during times of need (coordinate activities, manage volunteers, share needs).

Problem: I need a break, or don't know what to do about my upcoming vacation plans because I fear leaving my loved one.

Resources: Respite care is the name for care options designed to provide short-term care, a "respite" for caregivers or assistance during a tough time. There are a variety of options for respite care, from licensed home health companies providing someone to care for your loved one at home, to assisted living facility short term stays. Adult Day programs may also offer you a break during the day, and many caregivers find that a blend of solutions best meets their needs and budget.

The National Respite Locator Service helps parents, family caregivers, and professionals find respite services in their state and local area to match their specific needs. Community organizations and faith communities may offer programs to help.

If you will be away, consider hiring a Geriatric Care Manager to oversee care and check in on your loved one, whether at home or in a care facility. Most geriatric care managers provide 24/7 on-call service, so you have peace of mind during your time away.

Problem: I would like to share my frustrations with others who understand--I don't feel like my friends and family want to hear about it any more. Plus, I'd like to get ideas about what other caregivers have found to be helpful.

Resources: There are a wide variety of caregiver support groups available in most communities. Your Area Agency on Aging should be able to provide a list, or contact a disease-specific organization, such as the Alzheimer's Association or MS Society.

There are also a number of online communities offering support and interaction with other caregivers. You will find caregiver groups on Facebook and many websites, such as Caring.com. and Caregiver.org. Family Caregivers Alliance offers a good article about online support groups and communities, including how to find a good match and "netiquette". There are even some support groups done via telephone and The Well Spouse Association for spousal caregivers offers letter-writing "round robins" and mentoring.

Our next blog post will continue this discussion with some additional professional services to aide caregivers and provide you the advice and support you need.

We invite you to sign up for our monthly newsletter for up-to-date resources and tips or CONTACT US today for information on how we can help, caregiver consultations, and geriatric care assessments for tailored recommendations to save you time and stress.

We are honoring caregivers during Stress Awareness Month, with tips, pointers and resources to help you reduce your stress and manage your caregiving duties. Here are some caregiver stress reduction pointers:

Pull together your loved one’s medical and personal records in a systematic way. Organizational tools and systems can help. There are many great caregiver tools online to do so. We use Caregiver’s Touch, which also offers a mobile app for easy access. When you find yourself in the role of caregiver, whether suddenly or over time, it can be challenging to pull together a comprehensive, accurate history. We often assist families with this task, and confirming and organizing relevant information as well as developing a baseline of the client's health status. An online tool provides better accessibility and can eliminate one more thing for you to think about as a caregiver ("Where is that information?"), but you can also use a notebook or filing system to organize these records if you prefer. In addition to medical history and records, you may find this Document Locator List a handy tool to guide the kind of information you should have handy.

Make sure you get enough "sustenance" to keep you strong for your caregiving role. A great tip from Nicole Levison on StrengthforCaring.com explains the acronym HALT, "It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired and is commonly referred to as a list of the main reasons people overindulge or melt-down. Add “worry” to the factors that can adversely affect you. A good night of rest, a good nutritious meal, and an evening with friends may help you cope with family caregiving!”

Find out about resources to assist. Ask your employer if they offer any eldercare resources—many do through their EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs), whether information and referral or caregiver toolkits and even benefits or workplace accommodations. Contact the local Area Agency on Aging or a geriatric care manager. The best time to do some background research is before a crisis hits. This can be tough when you are busy with completing duties, but even a brief consultation may yield a lot of information and pointers that will make your path smoother.

Break down your concerns and tasks in to lists. Things quickly become overwhelming when you feel stressed, making them seem impossible to tackle. It can help to write down your list of “to dos” and prioritize. Looking at it on paper can make it seem more manageable, and you can identify tasks with which others can assist. You may feel you have to handle certain things yourself, but don’t allow yourself to feel you have to handle it all.

Always schedule time for at least one important activity or passion. The activity could be 30 minutes/day to read or take a walk, attend your book club once/month, meditate, or share lunch with a friend.

In our future posts, we will offer some practical pointers and resources to help you with eldercare tasks. We will also discuss some of the top areas of stress many caregivers face and possible solutions if you are faced with these as well. You can subscribe to our blog feed here or contact us for more information or assistance today.

April is Stress Awareness Month

Family caregivers face a number of sources of stress. Not only may you be juggling many roles, but you may find yourself managing multiple crises, worrying about the future, arguing with family members over what is best and dealing with a quickly changing and hard to navigate situation. You may be part of what is known as the "sandwich generation", caring for both aging parents and your children.

Our April blog posts will address caregiver stress: tips, resources for coping and how to get assistance. You will see a recurring theme, which is that while caregiving is very much a personal family matter, professional support and resources can help you...to do the best job as a caregiver and to reduce stress. One of the biggest worries caregivers express to us is the lingering doubt about decisions (thoughts of "Am I doing what is best?"). We will share some resources that can help with that issue as well as tips and experiences from working with families over many years.

If you are experiencing any of the following, check out our upcoming articles or contact us today about ways we can help, from resources suggestions to caregiver consultations and long-distance caregiver support:

• Feeling overwhelmed with caregiving duties

• Resenting siblings who don’t do as much as me

• Arguing with family members over what is best for our loved one

• Feeling that I am neglecting other relationships

• Anxiety over the phone ringing, afraid there will be a crisis on the other end

• Excessive phone calls throughout the day from my loved one

• Foregoing vacation plans because my loved one needs me all the time

• Giving up favorite activities for caregiving duties

• Difficulty managing work duties

• Financial stress due to paying for a parent’s care

The website StrengthforCaring.com has a great series of articles on this topic you may also wish to visit and review.

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