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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Support can make all the difference

Caregiving can be a full-time vocation

Jodi Summit
Posted 11/23/16

REGIONAL- “Everyone goes into the role of caregiving with the idea that they can handle it,” said Nancy Dougherty, Executive Director of Range Respite. “They love the person they are caring …

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Support can make all the difference

Caregiving can be a full-time vocation

Posted

REGIONAL- “Everyone goes into the role of caregiving with the idea that they can handle it,” said Nancy Dougherty, Executive Director of Range Respite. “They love the person they are caring for. But when it becomes a 24-hour a day, seven-day a week deal, it takes a toll on everyone.”

“The greatest need we see is getting people to identify themselves as caretakers, and then seek out information and resources before there is a crisis.”

Dougherty noted that caregiving may start out as a manageable job, but that asking for help is not a weakness.

Caregivers include those caring for elderly parents or spouses facing chronic or life-ending illness, as well as caring for family members with lifelong special needs.

Three of the area organizations that provide hospice services- Range Respite based in Virginia, Northwoods Partners based in Ely, and Virgie Hegg Hospice based in Cook -all understand the importance of providing support, resources, and training for caregivers.

Research shows that caregivers who take advantage of support services are typically able to keep their loved ones at home longer, experience a more positive experience as a caregiver, and have less stress and better health.

The vast majority of caregivers (85 percent) that Range Respite works with are caring for someone, usually a spouse, over the age of 65, and the majority of those caregivers are themselves over 65. Another large category of caregivers, said Dougherty, is adult children caring for their aging parents. Almost three quarters of the caregivers they work with, Dougherty noted, are female, and close to 70 percent have incomes low enough to qualify for subsidized services.

Range Respite worked with about 150 families in the past year, providing 3,464 hours of respite services to 29 families, 548 counseling sessions to 103 caregivers, and 1,159 training/education sessions to 135 caregivers.

Nancy Peterson said she has been a caregiver five times, caring for aging parents and relatives. Her son, Keith, is a physician who now specializes in working with hospice patients in Virginia, Grand Rapids, and Duluth. Peterson said she tries to keep up-to-date on services available to be able to help others as they become caregivers.

Peterson attended the Family Caregiver Conference at Fortune Bay on Nov. 3, along with a friend who was currently providing care for a partner with a terminal illness.

The caregiver conference was coordinated by AEOA Senior Services, Essentia Health/St. Mary’s Hospice, Range Respite, and other providers of senior care. The conference was funded with a major grant from Lake Country Power’s Operation Roundup program. Speakers covered a wide range of topics, mostly focusing on caring for the caretakers. There were dozens of vendors ranging from senior care facilities, to companies that provide on-site medical services, organizations that serve the elderly, medical equipment vendors, nutritional services, and massage therapy.

Caregiving is also mostly an unpaid job, and nationally, caregivers are recognized during National Family Caregiver Month in November. Ida Rukavina, who spoke at the conference on behalf of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, noted that caregivers are estimated to have put in 18 billion hours of unpaid labor last year. Klobuchar has introduced legislation to establish tax credits for caregivers.

Lloyd McIntire, of Tower, is one at the very beginning of a caregiver journey. His wife Carol was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disease earlier this year. He attended this year’s conference, along with his wife, and found a variety of resources and support services that will be available for them in the future.

“We are not having major problems yet,” he said. “But I am finding out what resources are available, and I have joined a local support group.”

McIntire has gotten an early taste of the caregiver role, as he helped his wife recover from her recent knee replacement surgery.

“I have been helping more with the housekeeping and cooking,” he said. “Actually I was trying to cook, but luckily she is able to do more of that now!”

McIntire knows that his role will be growing in the future, and that he probably needs to update his cooking skills, but for now, he said, he feels more confident knowing that help will be available when he needs it.

The importance of having outside support from those going through the same issues is essential, said Lisa Porthan, Executive Director at Northwoods Partners which is based in Ely.

“We are here to support you on this journey,” she said. “Support reduces caregiver stress.”

Porthan said that being part of a support group can make a huge difference for caregivers.

“Many caregivers just need someone to listen,” she said. “They often don’t want to clue in their close family members about their day-to-day stress. Sometimes it is easier to talk to someone outside of your family.”

Support groups also provide a wealth of experience. Northwoods Partners sponsors groups in both Ely and Babbitt for caregivers working with loved ones with memory issues.

“They can validate what you are going through. They rally around each other. They find out what works and what doesn’t,” she said. Another benefit of support groups, she said, is they often can help caregivers identify triggers for new behaviors. For example, she said, patients with dementia often will not complain about feeling sick, but their behavior worsens. Often, she said, it is simply the result of something like a urinary tract infection.

Northwoods Partners also does in-home visits, because they understand it is often difficult for caregivers to make it to regular meetings.

Our motto this year is “Take care to give care,” she said. “There are real reasons why caregivers need to take of themselves also.”

The stress of caregiving can impact one’s own health. Caregivers are twice as likely to suffer from depression and are at increased risk for other chronic conditions, Porthan said.

Northwoods Partners reminded caregivers to “rest, recharge, respite.”

People may think of respite as a luxury, Porthan said, but the risks from chronic stress can be a lot costlier than some time away to recharge.

Liz Cheney, Program Director for Virgie Hegg Hospice Partners said they also see caregiver support as critical.

“You can’t care for your loved one unless you care for yourself,” she said.

Virgie Hegg provides financial assistance to families using hospice services.

“If a loved one is being served by hospice and there is a financial need,” she said, “we can provide caregiver support services along with financial support for special services for the hospice patient.”

Virgie Hegg does not provide direct services, but can refer hospice patients and their caregivers to other area organizations that provide support and services.