-by Jill Ruff

Being a caregiver of some one can be challenging. What can be helpful to caregivers is to create a support network to assist you in caring for your loved one. Your network can include healthcare providers, family members, neighbors, friends, vendors who provide in-home care or adult day care services, or a local church if you belong to a specific religious denomination.

Informal Support

Think about people who may be willing to help or have offered you help in caring for the patient.  Sometimes family and friends are not able or willing to help, but others in your extended groups of friends or your neighborhood are willing to become involved and are happy to help.  You just need to ask and you might be surprised as those who step up to the plate to offer assistance.

• First make a list of what needs to be done and post it prominently in the house.  Visitors who see the list might offer to help out.
• Ask for help.  Most people want to help but just are sure how so let them know.
• Request practical help with tasks like shopping, driving to appointments, going to the pharmacy, making meals and housework including laundry, lawn/gardening.
• Find out when people are available to help and select a task that works on their timeline.
• Your community or church may have volunteers that will visit, come over to read or play cards, make meals, or offer other types of support that you and the patient need.

Formal Support

Your formal support network is more structured than the informal one.  You can ask your family doctor for help finding services, the social workers at the hospital where the patient is discharged from or go to the Internet and find lists of resources.  Your formal support network may include:

• Home care nurse, personal care workers or a home health aide who can provide baths, feedings and care, and can offer you a break for a few hours from your care giving duties.
• Pharmacy that offers home delivery
• Community agencies that offer services for a fee including grocery shopping, house cleaning, gardening and transportation services.
• If your loved one is on hospice, a hospice care team which may include a nurse, social worker, chaplain and other members

Do not be afraid to ask for help in your caregiving responsibilities.  If you do not ask, you may never know what is available.  Just reach out. And if your loved one is resisting help from others or is reluctant to have “strangers” in the home, explain to them that you need the help and would like to at least give it a try. It’s not always easy getting used to unfamiliar faces in your home.  It will take some adjustment but ultimately you will get used to this and will find it tremendously helpful.

Source: A Caregiver’s Guide - K. Macmillan, J. Peden, J. Hopkinson and D. Hycha