National Family Caregiver’s Month
“More than 65 million people, 29% of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend during any given year and spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one.” Source: National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP; November 2009.
Are you or members of your family caregivers? Here are 10 tips from the Caregiver Action Network:
1. Seek support from other caregivers. You’re not alone!
2. Accept offers of help and suggest specific things people can do to help you.
3. Take care of your own health so you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one.
4. Caregiving is hard work so take respite breaks often.
5. Learn to effectively communicate with doctors.
6. Organize medical information so it is up to date and easy to find.
7. Watch for signs of depression and don’t delay getting professional help when you need it.
8. Be open to new technologies that can help you care for your loved one.
9. Make sure legal documents are in order.
10. Give yourself credit for doing the best you can in one of the toughest jobs there is!
Check out the Caregiver Action Network website for additional resources: https://caregiveraction.org
And remember, when things get too hard, we are here to step in and help in anyway we can. Country Meadows Village offers multiple options that can give you a much needed break, allow you to go on vacation and know mom/dad is safe, or renovate the house. Or if your loved ones needs to just take the next step in getting full time care, we can provide that too.
Contact Tami at (503) 982-2221 for more information on how we can help you.
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