“What about me?” she asked. “Who will take care of me if I get sick?”
So I asked our South Coast healthcare providers what resources were out there to help senior caregivers adjust to these multiple roles while keeping up their own health. Here’s what they had to say:
When care in your home is realistic?
Joanne Gregory, Director of Community Affairs
Southcoast Visiting Nursing Agency
101 Page Street, New Bedford, MA
508-676-8251 www.southcoast.org/vna
Providing health and hospice care in the home setting provides many benefits to both the individual and their senior caregivers. Care delivered in the privacy and comfort of one’s home is tailored to each individual’s needs and involves the senior caregiver throughout the process. However, often times senior caregivers lack the skills and/or resources needed to provide care to their loved one. Southcoast VNA staff provide senior caregivers with support and education they need to care for their loved one and themselves.
Caring for a family member or friend is not easy, nor is it something most of us are prepared to do. Southcoast VNA’s hospice and palliative care program staff and volunteers provide respite for caregivers throughout the illness and are able to provide individual counseling and bereavement support for up to 13 months after the death.
Holly Stevens and Keith Guinen, Directors
Beacon Adult Foster Care
227 Walnut St., New Bedford, MA
774-202-1837 www.beaconafc.com
Senior caregivers are less likely to attend to their own health care needs. As a result, their own health may get sidelined as the care of another takes precedence. Beacon Adult Foster Care provides our caregivers with support and educational materials on how to care for themselves and recognize that they are not alone.
Caring for another person is expensive. The costs of medications, transportation and housing can quickly add up and place a severe strain on the budget. Many seniors are on a fixed income and may have a difficult time paying these costs. Seniors are often unaware of the services and resources available to them. Beacon Adult Foster Care pays caregivers a tax-free stipend to care for their loved ones at home, and as a member of the South Coast Senior Resource Association, we are able to call upon a network of senior care agencies to meet a wide variety of service needs.
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