Elders
and Caregivers
Caregiver Voices - Vignettes of NFCSP "Success
Stories"
Selected examples from family experiences illustrate
how the National Family Caregiver Support Program is making a
difference in the American caregiving experience. The National
Family Caregiver Support Program…
- Helps families connect to services
Ms. T who lives in Arizona connected with the Area Agency caregiver
program through the AoA-sponsored Eldercare Locator program.
She was concerned about her mother’s
continuing decline in mobility. She wanted to have a physical therapist evaluate
her mother and work to increase her strength. The caregiver support staff collected
information about local services and costs and provided this information to the
caregiver. They suggested an Emergency Response System unit for the home since
the mother lived alone. Her daughter, who lives in Ohio, was able to set up and
pay for services for her mother because of the caregiver program. The daughter
was relieved to know that a caregiving specialist will check on her mother until
she was able to return home for a visit.
- Promotes better care-related decisions
Mr. D.
is a 51-year-old male who resides in the District of Columbia
and is the sole caregiver for his blind mother. Mr. D is employed
outside the home, and
consequently, worries about his mother during the day. For Mr. D., the educational
seminars provided through the NFCSP are invaluable. He has attended each of the
sessions offered, once every other month. At the seminars, Mr. D has learned
about community resources, insurance issues and helpful tips from fellow caregivers.
The opportunity to learn from other caregivers has helped him plan his mothers’ care
and encourage him to accept help for others.
- Helps caregivers take a break
An 80-year-old caregiver is caring for her 102-year-old mother.
She receives assistance with respite in the evenings so that
she can rest prior to rendering
care throughout the night. The respite services give her a break when she knows
she has reached her limits so that she can continue to meet the day-to-day challenges
of caregiving. When talking with this caregiver she will not tell you that this
role is a chore or job, but will tell you that it is an honor to be entrusted
with the care of her dear mother and a commitment that she is thankful for. She
was selected Arkansas’ Caregiver of the Year for 2001.
- Allows caregivers to remain in the workforce
A man transferred his 90-year-old mother from the south to northern
Minnesota this year. He was able to set her up in a senior high
rise but did not realize
until she was there that she needed so many support services. He had a new job
that required him to be on the road several days a week and wasn’t sure
how this would impact her adjustment. The Caregiver program allowed for connections
to be made to the state services for the blind, meals on wheels, friendly visitor
program, and volunteer driver services. Four months later the care recipient
is making new friends in her building, is called and visited weekly, receives
daily meals, had her appliances high-marked for ease of use and receives books
on tape through the mail. When her son is on the road he is comforted in knowing
his mother is receiving food, can manage her daily living and has transportation
if needed for outings.
- Supports long-distance caregiving
Long-distance caregiving is a difficult challenge for many adult
children. In Minnesota several families use the NFCSP as a connecting
point (phone/email/mail)
for their loved ones since they (the adult children) live a town away, a state
away or even across the country. Through the NFCSP, home visits are arranged
for caregivers and distant caregivers are kept informed of the status of the
care recipient. When family caregivers do visit, they readily receive information
through the program.
- Prevents unwanted out-of-home placement
Mr. and Mrs. B. live in a rural Ohio community, and are trying
to remain independent in their own home. Mrs. B is 81 years old
and has difficulty walking, as well
as limited use of her right arm. Her husband provides daily care for his wife
despite his own physical problems. The Caregiver Support Program set up services
for this couple two times a week. Having a nurse’s aide come into the
home allows Mr. B time to run errands without worrying about Mrs. B being left
home
alone. Mr. B states now he cannot imagine how they would cope without the assistance
of the Caregiver Support Program.
- Prevents foster care placement for children raised by grandparent caregivers
An elderly Kentucky grandmother has taken over
caregiving responsibilities for her eleven-year-old grandson.
After providing this care for a number of
years,
the grandmother found herself in need of outpatient surgery that would involve
about a week of recovery at home. Knowing that undergoing the procedure would
severely limit her ability to provide care to her grandson the week following
the operation, this grandmother had already postponed the surgery twice before.
Hearing of the NFCSP, the grandmother contacted her local Area Agency asking
if she and her grandson would qualify for some temporary assistance under
our program. The agency was able to arrange for the help that
the two of them needed.
A home care worker was able to meet the housekeeping and chore demands of
household with a child present (preparing snacks and meals, laundry,
clean-up, and the
like) and at the same time provide personal care assistance to the grandmother
until she was better able to manage for herself. She was worried, that without
such help, she might have had to seek out temporary foster care for her grandson,
a less than ideal situation, since he had already suffered through a difficult
separation from his natural parent, as well as protracted foster care, prior
to his grandmother obtaining legal custody.
- Helps sustain caregivers in their caregiving roles
A North Carolina caregiver takes care of her mother and sister,
as well as her 12-year-old grandson for the past 7 years. Her
stress level is unbelievably
high
and though both her sister and mother attend adult day centers and have a
volunteer provide respite one time a week, her responsibilities are staggering.
This
caregiver had not been home to see her family in Oklahoma in years because
she did not
feel comfortable leaving all her responsibilities in someone else's hands.
After attending the workshop, Taking Care of You...Powerful Tools for Caregiving,
she
was challenged by the other caregivers in the group to go to a family reunion
in Oklahoma. She accepted the challenge and was energized and delighted to
find that her family with the help of friends and neighbors did just fine
in her absence.
She stated that without the support of the "Tools" group, she would
have been unable to make this huge step.
- Reaches out to special populations and communities
Mrs. I is 78 year old Japanese care recipient.
Mrs. I is legally blind, has diabetes, and arthritis. She is
prone to falls and
is not able to strictly
control her
diet on her own, nor prepare her meals. She lives with her 47-year-old son,
Jed, who is responsible for running a food shipping business in Alaska. He
is the
sole family caregiver. The family could only afford a few hours of respite
help a week and due to demands of his business, Jed was unable to provide
help to
his mother during the day. The Alaska Caregiver Program provided the necessary
funds and a Senior Companion to provide respite services during the week;
the family private-pays for respite help on the weekends. What was a caregiving
crisis for Jeb is now a stabilized situation.
- Meets unmet caregiver needs
“I am a caregiver to my elderly mother who is a double amputee. I am a
single amputee. We have lived in Rosebud Housing for seven years without a ramp.
When the Caregiver Program was implemented on the reservation the staff assisted
me by getting the proper forms for the local housing office. Within one week
my mother and I had a ramp installed at our home after seven years without one." White
River, SD, Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
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