A great find for caregivers

I heard about a new source of caregiver information today. Our local Aging Resource Center, ElderSource is developing a series of podcasts designed to provide timely and helpful information to those of us who care for older adults. You can find them at Informed Eldercare. I just listened to the podcast on disaster preparedness for seniors which was excellent. There is also a 2-part podcast on end of life issues. Stop by and take a listen and don't forget to leave your comments and suggestions, they want your input to help guide them to the topics you want and need to know more about.

For the Spouse

It's included in the wedding vows, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health... and it very often happens that one spouse will end up being the primary caregiver for the other who has a chronic illness or disability. These spouses need support and encouragement by the truckload but they don't always get it. Here is a site where they can find information and support targeted directly for them and their common issues, the Well Spouse Association. Although they do not have a support group in my area, they do have many across the country and in Canada. But the web site itself has some very helpful information and they have a newsletter for their members as well. Here is a sample newsletter they have available to download. Go take a look around, if you don't need the information for yourself at present, you may have a friend who does. Pass it on. And then offer to do something nice for them. They deserve it.

Boomtown

According to social analysts, Northeast Florida's senior population is expected to grow by 66 percent in the next fifteen years. This population boom will bring with it exciting opportunities, but also challenges with regard to the increased demand for services. - United Way of NE Florida.

I read this recently on my local United Way web site. The ramifications of this growth spurt in the older adult community are going to be huge, especially for the family caregiver. The resources available today are limited as it is. There are waiting lists for long term care diversion programs, for beds in LTC facilities, Meals on Wheels, you name it. The time to start addressing this is now (or yesterday?) and I'm happy to find that the United Way is addressing the issue with a program called Life - Act 2, a council made up of corporate, private and public entities that fund senior service programs. The council has established three goals to begin addressing the issue:

1. To elicit a culture shift in the way the Northeast Florida community views and values seniors.
2. To integrate medical admission and discharge processes with our community's social service system.
3. To strengthen the continuum of services available to our community's seniors.

Some of the accomplishments of the council since it was established in April of 2002 are:

• The number of frail seniors on a waiting list for home delivered meals has been cut in half
• Over $1 million new dollars have been leveraged to invest in senior services
• Over $200,000 have been invested in community intergenerational activities
• Over $50,000 have been invested to create or expand 10 neighborhood projects designed to engage seniors in meaningful community activities

It's a good start but it's going to take dedication and effort from public, private and corporate entities as well as faith communities working together to find solutions. I get really bugged by the way every little thing is portrayed as a crisis by politicians and the media, but I'm afraid that this lack of programs and services to help folks care for their aging loved ones might actually become a real crisis.

Helpful Things

The website for Caregiver Magazine is chock full of nifty and helpful things. Stop by and you may find some useful stuff.