November is National Family Caregiver Month

Let’s Celebrate Caregivers

In 1994, the National Family Caregivers Association began promoting the celebration of family caregivers during the week of Thanksgiving. As interest grew in family caregiving issues, National Family Caregivers Week became National Family Caregivers Month.

Day in and day out, more than 65 million family caregivers in this country fulfill a vital role on the care team. No one else is in a better position to ensure continuity of care. November is a time to thank, support, educate, and empower family caregivers. Celebrating caregivers enables all of us to:

• Raise awareness of family caregiver issues

• Celebrate the efforts of family caregivers

• Educate family caregivers about self-identification

• Increase support for family caregivers

Upcoming caregiver information session you might find helpful:

Park Ridge of Hastings will host Family Caregiving Strategies, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at Park Ridge of Hastings. More than ever, families face the practical and emotional challenges of caring for elders. Whether sudden or gradual, these responsibilities can be unfamiliar and overwhelming, particularly for working adults. Is your family ready?  DARTS Service Coordinator Lynn Cibuzar will help you learn about resources and strategies that can help maintain everyone's dignity and connectedness. Park Ridge of Hastings is located at 901 W. 16th Street.

One caregiver’s reflections on caring for older loved ones:

Caring Reflections/The Ladies

My father has additional helpers now. He calls them “The Ladies.” As a very private man, it isn’t easy for my dad to have others involved in his most personal daily activities. But he and The Ladies have settled into a good routine, and their presence has brought great relief to the family caregiving scene.

As a matter of fact, I think he enjoys their visits. They’re unfailingly kind and, though his speech is limited, he tries to reciprocate. He greets them by name when he can, or studies their nametags when he’s not sure. And after they’ve left, he tells me a little something about them. “The small one…Bridget…she’s strong.” Or, the grandest compliment of all, “She knows what she’s doing.”

Immediately after supper, my dad starts getting ready for The Ladies who will help him to bed. He does the things he can do—unbuttons his shirt, takes out his hearing aid, takes off his socks—all with great effort in the super-slow motion caused by his illness. It makes their job just a little easier. It’s what he can give to them.

(Editor’s note: Beth’s complete online journal can be found at: http://www.darts

1.org/blog/caring-reflections.)

For a resource guide for service providers who can help in your caregiver journey, please stop by the Hastings Senior Center in the Tilden Community Center, or go online to: www.darts1.org/dak

ota-county-eldercare-resour

ces.

If you would like to submit a question or concern about your own caregiving experience, and get direct, one-to-one information and advice from a licensed social worker and eldercare advisor, please visit: www.darts1.org/online

-caregiving-advisor or call 651-455-1560.

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