Marci, at the New York Times, wrote an excellent article yesterday highlighting the challenges of balancing work and eldercare. The article outlined great tips for helping working caregivers, including planning early and being flexible.

Today Marci followed up her post with websites with resources for working caregivers. She spoke with AGIS founder, Kevin Sypniewski, about AGIS and the resources available for caregivers who are trying to balance work and caregiving:

AGIS is an online eldercare site founded by Kevin Sypniewski, who has spent a lot of time thinking about caring for those who need extra care. His developmentally disabled brother, who died at 31, needed care throughout his life. His sister is a special education teacher, and his mother worked as a nurse in a special education school district. Mr. Sypniewski helped care for his mother, his stepfather, and most recently for his father, who all died of cancer. “My family was exposed to these issues through a train of close relatives needing care in the late 1990s and early 2000s,” he told me. “But it is something all baby boomers will be dealing with.”

The AGIS site is jammed with content, including sections on legal and financial advice, a search function to find local services, a blog for caregivers, advice on how to take time off from work, and a crisis assistance section. If you have a question that isn’t answered on the site, you can also e-mail on of AGIS’s eldercare specialists at expert@agis.com. The site also has a section on planning for your own future care , but I’d like to see a little more on this, especially for people who don’t have children or other obvious caretakers in the wings. Though the site is free to consumers, AGIS earns its revenues through sponsorships with many of the major players in the eldercare industry. According to the Web site, “These relationships are kept strictly separate from the content and search results that appear on our site.”

Resources:
A Few Helping Hands with Eldercare
Eldercare, an Inevitable Work/Life Issue

More Resources from AGIS.com
Future Planning
Are You Flexible?

Filed under: AGIS, Caregiving, Working Caregivers