Caregiving is hard work...It is important that we listen to caregivers in order to know what their needs are and then address the specific needs they identify. —Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
You may be asking:
- How long can I keep this up? (Ten weeks...ten months...ten years?)
- How do I know when my own health is being compromised?
- How can I overcome the daily isolation I feel?
- What should I do when I feel I can't keep going?
The information in this section is useful for all caregivers—those currently providing care and those who want to plan for providing care in the future. In fact, many current caregivers say that they wish someone had told them to start preparing for eldercare before there was a crisis. You are a caregiver if you are a close family member (spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, or relative), friend or neighbor, and:
- You manage a variety of tasks, from personal care and managing the checkbook to taking blood pressure and giving medication
- You care for healthy elders or elders who are chronically or acutely ill
- You provide direct service and/or organize and monitor the care others provide
- You provide care in the home, hospital, rehab center, retirement community, nursing home, or other setting
- You provide help intermittently, regularly, and/or on a 24/7 basis
- You live with, near, or far away from the elder in your care
Continue to Why Caregivers Need Care...