Living Independently
Caregiver’s Corner
by Lisa Schmidtke
Caregivers are heroes of the
elderly and disabled; they tirelessly work to help those limited
in mobility. They may be a spouse, neighbor, professional, parent,
son or daughter. Their “real job” may
be a banker, doctor, construction worker or teacher. But one thing they have
in common is an unconditional desire to care for another human being, to allow
them to live their life with dignity. I’d like to devote this column to
my dad.
The National Alliance
for Caregiving, www.caregiving.org, estimates that one-quarter
of U.S. households are directly caring for a adult with a disability
without compensation. Middle-aged Americans, known as the “sandwich
generation,” often go from raising their
children to caring for their spouse or parent. 30-40% of working
adults are managing a career with the added commitment of caring
for an adult. “Sandwiched” between the responsibilities
of caring for their children and their parents, careers may suffer
due to illness, leaves of absence and loss of productivity.
Where Caregivers Can Go for
Support
The answer may be online.
CARELINKUSA® is
a tool for health care professionals and consumers seeking information
and referrals to facilities such as nursing homes and assisted-living
environments in and around Minnesota. With this valuable tool, you
can search for providers based on location and/or services provided.
CARELINKUSA® is
a community service provided by Care Providers of Minnesota, a nonprofit
trade association for providers of long-term health care.
If a caregiver can’t leave their dependent to attend a support
group, they should “go virtual.” The Empowering Caregivers
Web site contains resources, message boards, newsletters and other
support tools to help provide assistance and education to caregivers.
They even have a special section on alternative healing.
For a more tactical
approach, Family Means provides respite care and support groups.
Their other services include credit counseling, employee assistance
and youth and family development. The Well Spouse Foundation has
a support group that meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.
Prairie Adult Care in Eden Prairie has partnered with Emerald Crest
in Shakopee to offer a support group specifically addressing the
challenges of caring for someone with memory loss and another for
Parkinson’s. As a bonus, they offer free respite
care in the day center.
The society-wide shift
from skilled nursing-home care to community-based services has
opened up opportunities for nonprofits to bridge the gap between
caregivers and health care providers. Eldercare Partners unites
five of the most respected nonprofit organizations in the Minneapolis-St.
Paul metropolitan area. They offer caregivers
coaching and counseling, geriatric assessments, Web site lists of
Twin Cities area caregiver support groups and caregiver education
and training seminars. Check out their Twin Cities calendar of events
for caregivers. One of their member organizations, DARTS, created
CaregiverMN.org, where you’ll learn about multiple resources
for family caregivers, including one-to-one support and workplace
resources for Twin Cities area caregivers and some culturally specific
information for Spanish-speaking and Hmong family caregivers. DARTS
provides care-giver support groups, education sessions, volunteer
respite care, information and assistance, and care management to
more than 1,000 seniors and their families annually.
Caregivers, help is near!
Stay in touch with your local and national organizations, learn about
their resources both online and in-person and, most importantly,
know that you are heroes. ![]()
Resource Contact Information
Caregiver
MN: www.caregivermn.org/HomePage.asp
CareLinkUSA: www.carelinkusa.com/Default.asp
DARTS: www.darts1.org
Eldercare Partners: www.eldercarepartners.org/index.htm
EmpoweringCaregivers:
www.care-givers.com/
Family Means: www.familymeans.org/
Prairie Adult Care: www.prairieadultcare.com/support.html
The Well Spouse Foundation: www.wellspouse.org/
Lisa Schmidtke is the President
and Founder of House-calls Network. Their Web site, www.housecalls-network.com,
contains a directory of resources that can help the growing population
of seniors, people with disabilities and their caregivers live independently.
House-calls Network also sells aids for daily living and adaptive
clothing.
Lisa Schmidtke can be reached by e-mail at lisa@housecalls-network.com or by phone at 952-221-0722. Housecalls Network does not endorse
any particular provider. They assume no responsibility for transactions
between the readers of this article and listed organizations.
