Our Forums are all about caregivers supporting each other. In this week’s highlights, members are sharing information on topics that concern us every day.

Caregiving can lead to family conflicts. In this post, a wife feels stretched to the limit by caring for aging parents and her young children. What advice would you share with her to get her husband to help out?

http://forums.agis.com/thread.jspa?threadID=251&tstart=0

The AGIS Caregiver Forum has added a new thread “Caregiving and spirituality”. Our spiritual beliefs and community can be a huge support as we care for a family member. In this post forum members discuss how the stress of caregiving has brought prayer back into their lives.

http://forums.agis.com/thread.jspa?threadID=252&tstart=0

In this post, one of our members is preparing a “just in case” list for taking care of her father from a distance. She has already helped him during a recent illness and wants to be more prepared in the future if he becomes ill again. The community shares ideas about what items should appear on her long distance caregiving list.

http://forums.agis.com/thread.jspa?threadID=247&tstart=0

The AGIS Network Caregiver Forums are a great place to get support and ideas for helping your family member. Will you join us? http://forums.agis.com/index.jspa

Filed under: Caregiving, Long Distance Caregiving, Spirituality | No Comments »

Economic forecasts are causing many to pinch pennies and tighten belts. Federal funding, state programs and non-profit organizations have all had to reign in spending and cut expenses, and elder care assistance resources are dwindling. Even after deciding what tasks to assign to a home caregiver or which local resources to utilize to find one, you still need to figure out how to pay for them.

Families caring for loved ones are becoming increasingly more responsible for the costs related to care. News of proposed federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid worry health care providers and non-profit groups providing affordable in-home services to those in need. Barbara Gay, director of advocacy information at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, in Washington, DC, observed that nonprofit nursing homes “would have to figure out how to do more with less.” She continued, “You can’t cut back on quality, usually you don’t end up closing beds. Many already do a lot of fund raising. That probably would have to be more intensive.”

States like Pennsylvania are freezing Medical Assistance payments to reimburse low-income seniors in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Somerset County, PA, has even started a waiting list for elderly people who need home-delivered meals because their is not enough money to cover the rising cost of food and higher fuel prices incurred in delivering meals. Arthur N. DiLoreto, administrator of the Area Agency on Aging of Somerset County said, “We have instituted cost-containment and reduction. But we are seeing such an increase in the demand for in-home services that we have had to start the waiting list for home-delivered meals. We did not make this decision lightly.”

Northern Colorado families recently received letters in the mail saying that the foundation providing their affordable in-home services had quietly and abruptly shut down, leaving many scrambling to find providers to continue services. “This business shutting down and the way they shut down were not good for the homecare business,” Mike Maguire, owner of nearby Home Instead Senior Care said. “Everyone is just really disturbed at the way families were treated.”

At the same time, many private companies see opportunities in the growth of home health care needs in the United States. A Minnesota baby boomer recently launched a company which produces elder-care resource events for the public. “Elder Care Expo brings together many of the answers people like us are searching for — in one place,” Elder Care Expo founder Julie Groshens offered.

The University of Central Florida’s School of Social Work is developing an innovative program to prepare its graduates for careers in geriatric social work, thanks to a grant from the John A. Hartford foundation. “Approximately 17 percent of Central Florida residents are 60 or older,” Denise Gammonley, assistant professor of social work and co-director of the program pointed out. “We estimate that about 40 percent of these older residents have at least moderate social and health-care needs because of disabilities or poverty.”

With so many variables, finding the right services for you and your family’s situation can be daunting. The AGIS.com site can easily help you find local services, government agencies, and community resources to meet your care needs. You can also learn about Medicare and Medicaid, find out what types of expenses to expect, and appropriately prepare your budget to care for aging loved ones. Finally, visit the Money Concerns Forum to learn from others and share your own experiences.

Filed under: Care Facilities, Caregiving, Elder Issues, Eldercare, Home Care Agencies, Housing, Long Term Care, Medicare, Medicare & Medicaid, Resources, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Sandwich Generation – no, it’s not a sudden fad for meat between two slices of bread, but a demographic explosion. The term was coined to describe those 16 million Americans who not only take care of their children, but elderly parents too. They are “sandwiched” between two generations, and as you can imagine, just trying to make ends meet.

And there will be more of them: as America’s baby boomers age, in 25 years there will be 60 million Americans between the ages of 66 and 84, all of them needing some kind of care.

So who is the “sandwich” caregiver? Most probably, you are: female (though more fathers and sons are joining your ranks), work full-time, and devote an average of around 20 hours a week just to caregiving (in addition to car-pooling kids, shopping, etc.).

It will affect your work life. Because of your caregiving responsibilities, you will: get to work late, or have to leave early, have phone interruptions from medical personnel or confused parents, be so tired you are at higher risk for illness or accidents. It may be so bad you: give up a promotion, retire early or take a leave of absence.

If you or someone you know chauffeurs parents to doctor’s appointments, pays the parent’s bills, cleans their house, does or arranges for their home repairs, then welcome to the world of the family caregiver. Sound familiar?

But fear not, such a stress-inducing topic deserves a little levity. So, in addition to advice and information, we’d like to give a little comfort to those taxed with a very trying task. For your enjoyment, we’ve come up with a “Top Ten” list to identify those “hams” out there balancing the breads and with more on your plate than you need, read this – and enjoy:

10. You envy people who lead simpler, less stressful lives, like air-traffic controllers.

9. Your old 9-to-5 grind is now the “good ol’ days.”

8. You wonder how much it would cost to have your dining room set laminated.

7. You’re convinced that both Spongebob and Matlock are out to get you.

6. You’ll never forget your last vacation, “Summer ‘05: Daiquiris at the Mall.

5. You save the nice sippy cups for company.

4. You’d kick your oldest son out, but he’s the only one who can work the TV.

3. You apply for a patent for Adjust-a-Loo, the world’s first multigenerational toilet.

2. Your Dad reminds you he doesn’t need high SATs to get into a good nursing home.

1. Mom ran out of Depends? One word: Huggies.

So now that you think being a member of the sandwich generation “bites”, come to www.agis.com for assistance, support or even a break:

• Lighten you load: Set up a Family CareGroup. In a master calendar format, friends and family can share in various caregiving tasks and activities.
• You’re in good company: Visit our forums where caregivers just like you are sharing their advice, tips, and frustrations.
• Got a question? We have answers: Get practical advice from our team of eldercare experts.
• It isn’t just about lunch: Learn more about the Sandwich Generation. AGIS - we’re not just the icing, we’re the cake!

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Filed under: AGIS, Baby Boomers, Caregiving, Eldercare, Inspiration, Sandwich Generation, Working Caregivers | 6 Comments »