Caregivers

By Shelia Ramsey-Caldwell

Caregiving or the giving of care can be a wonderful experience. Being able to meet a need of someone who is in need and cannot provide it themselves is a terrific opportunity.

According to the Alliance of Family Caregivers “informal caregiver” and “family caregiver” are terms used to refer to unpaid individuals such as family members, partners, friends and neighbors who provide care. These persons can be primary (i.e. the person who spends the most time helping) or secondary caregivers, full time or part time, and can live with the person being cared for or live separately.

Formal caregivers are volunteers or paid care providers associated with a service system. However, for the informal and family caregiver, caregiving can be hard. It can lead to stress, burnout, physical and emotional problems for the caregiver.

Some caregivers tend to put the care recipient first and themselves last. You can only give out of what you have. If you give all that you have, what is left for you?

At some point, these challenges need to be addressed. Caregivers can find help and support through a local support group. There are also respite care services available that can give a break from caregiving.

There may become a time when providing the care is too difficult even with respite or a support group. Tough decisions may have to be made. If the time comes where you can no longer provide the support and care needed, an assisted living home could be the answer. It allows the care recipient to remain in the community and not an institution.

The trend towards community-based services as opposed to nursing home placement was formalized with the Olmstead Decision (July 1999) – a court case in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of individuals to receive care in the community as opposed to an institution whenever possible. By remaining in the community, it gives the person an opportunity to participate in the community and be positively impacted by the community. This will hopefully allow the caregiver to renew, reconnect and attend to their pressing needs that may have been neglected while being the giver of care.