Web Resources
The National Alliance for Caregiving partners with other caregiving associations and groups to provide additional resources to help family caregivers address and cope with the challenges of caring for a loved one.
http://www.nextstepincare.org
Next Step in Care provides easy-to-use guides to help family caregivers and health care providers work closely together to plan and implement safe and smooth transitions for chronically or seriously ill patients.
http://www.va.gov/GERIATRICS/Guide/LongTermCare/index.asp
Visit the Guide to Long Term Care website for information about long term care options – home and community based, and residential care – as well as listings of nursing homes for Veterans by state. The Shared Decision Making section provides valuable tools that help the older person, and the family support person, in making long term care plans and choices.
http://www.va.gov/GERIATRICS/Guide/LongTermCare/Shared_Decision_Making.asp
Are you a caregiver of a veteran who needs long term care? Download the Caregivers Self-Assessment to review your caregiver responsibilities and your role in providing support, evaluate your stress and well-being, and help decide next steps.
www.apa.org/pi/about/publications/caregivers/index.aspx
The Briefcase is a web-based resource that psychologists can use to assist family caregivers through individual and organizational practice, research, teaching, advocacy and community service. It is also useful for other professionals who work with family caregivers, psychologists facing caregiving challenges within their own families, and caregivers themselves.
Caregivers are the family members and loved ones who provide care for Veterans who are living with the effects of war, disability, chronic illness, or aging. They deserve VA’s highest level of support. On February 1, 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is opening a toll-free National Caregiver Support Line housed at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center campus in Canandaigua, New York. The support line will serve as a primary resource/referral center to assist caregivers, Veterans and others seeking caregiver information to help in the care of our Nation’s Veterans. Calls to The National Caregiver Support Line will be answered by VA employees who are licensed clinical social workers.
The Support Line will provide information on VA/ community caregiver support resources and “warm” referral to dedicated Caregiver Support Coordinators located in every VA Medical Center; emotional support for the caregiver will be an integral component of this service. The National Caregiver Support Line is also available to respond to inquiries about the caregiver benefits associated with Public Law 111-163, Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010.
The National Caregiver Support Line will be open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The National Caregiver Support Line Toll-Free number is 1-855-260-3274.
To help caregivers find the information they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones, the Alliance has partnered with the National Family Caregivers Association to create Family Caregiving 101, an online resource loaded with quality information on how to deal with the challenges of caregiving.
The National Alliance for Caregiving has partnered with Lotsa Helping Hands to expand resources available to family caregivers. Through the National Alliance for Caregiving’s Lotsa Helping Hands website, visitors may create their own caregiving site to coordinate support needed for the caregiver and care recipient. Lotsa Helping Hands is a free caregiving coordination web service that provides a private, group calendar where tasks for which a caregiver needs assistance can be posted. Family and friends may visit the site and sign up online for a task. The website generates a summary report showing who has volunteered for which tasks and which tasks remain unassigned. The site tracks each task and notification and reminder emails are sent to the appropriate parties.
Caring.com is the leading online destination for family caregivers seeking information and support as they care for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones. Caring.com offers helpful content, advice from leading experts, a supportive community of caregivers, and a comprehensive directory of eldercare services. Caring.com’s carefully researched and expert-reviewed content includes advice from a team of more than 50 trusted leaders in geriatric medicine, law, finance, housing, and other key areas of healthcare and eldercare.
Caring.com’s Steps & Stages offers a free guide to Alzheimer’s care. Expert advice and practical tips provided in a Custom Care Guide and e-newsletter help family caregivers learn what to expect, what to do, and how to cope with Alzheimer’s.
Caring.com publishes findings from research with family caregivers in the Caring.com News Room and here: DEPRESSION LEVELS AMONG CAREGIVERS MORE THAN TWO TIMES NATIONAL AVERAGE, CARING.COM’S NEWEST STUDY REVEALS
The last concern most individuals have when they or their loved ones are dealing with a health situation is ensuring effective communication between their doctors, nurses, social workers and other health care providers. However, it is poor communication between well-intentioned professionals and an expectation that patients themselves will remember and relate critical information that can lead to dangerous and even life-threatening situations.
NTOCC has brought together industry leaders who have created resources to help you better understand transitional challenges and empower you as part of the care giving team.
The MetLife Caregiving Cost Study: Productivity Losses to U.S. Business estimates that business costs of caregiving employees may be as high as $33.6 billion nationally a year. This site was developed to allow individual employers to calculate their own costs.
