By Family Caregiving 101

Helping to balance a checkbook or helping with grocery shopping are tasks most family caregivers can easily accomplish, but there are other, more difficult tasks that family caregivers may not be prepared for.

Learning the correct way to transfer a loved one from a bed to a wheelchair can help you avoid serious injury to yourself and the person you're caring for. Learning how to properly bathe someone with mobility problems can reduce the risk of hospitalization for chronic sores and infections.

Unfortunately, family caregivers often do not receive the training they need, but there are resources available that can help.

In addition to the resources below, you should also talk to a doctor, nurse, or social worker about any caregiving tasks that you are uncomfortable performing or find difficult to perform.

Resources & Support Systems

The American Red Cross has developed a training program for family caregivers. It covers the following topics:

• Home safety
• General caregiving skills
• Positioning and helping your loved one move
• Assisting with personal care
• Healthy eating
• Caring for the caregiver
• Legal and financial issues

…

and more. Go to The American Red Cross Website for more information!

Other Resources

1. Mather LifeWays, is a Chicago-area company that provides community-based services and residential services for the elderly. They offer a program entitled "Powerful Tools for Caregivers" that is designed to help you take better care of loved one’s with chronic illnesses by improving your own self-confidence and self-care.
2. Family Caregiver Alliance provides an overview of the day-to-day skills family caregivers need to care for the frail elderly or individuals with chronic conditions.
3. The Center for Caregiver Training is developing a free online training course for family caregivers. The first three modules are currently available on their Website.
4. The Arc of the United States has created a handbook entitled Family Handbook on Future Planning. The handbook focuses on planning for the future care needs of children with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. The Arc also provides a Family Resource Guide with information on resources available in several states for families raising children with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.

How to Communicate Your Needs

If you are a family caregiver, you know that much of your energy is focused on meeting the needs of the person you are caring for, and that focusing on your own needs may seem selfish. Preserving your health, getting a break, and having time for yourself are not selfish desires.

They are part of what we all need to do, caregivers and non-caregivers alike. It's important that caregivers don't try to do everything themselves. Asking for help may be difficult or even seem embarrassing, but you may discover that friends and family are not only willing, but even eager to help. And remember, asking for help means less stress for you, which almost always means you'll be a better family caregiver.

Net of Care, a service of Beth Israel Hospital's Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care in New York City, provides the following tips:

• Sit down with family members or friends in person or find a quiet time to talk to them on the phone.
• Discuss specific areas in which you think they could help.
• Clearly explain what they could do to help.

To read the full list of tips, visit Net of Care online.

Other resources for communicating your needs include:

• The American Academy of Family Physicians
• National Family Caregivers Association

This article appeared on Family Caregiving 101. Family Caregiving 101 was created by National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) and made possible by the generous support of Eisai Inc.

Used with permission.