Intimate Lessons Regarding Family Caregiving

According to a recent Facebook live report by Kaiser Health News (KHN), every year more than 34 million unpaid caregivers — mostly family members — provide essential aid to adults age 50 and older. They help with tasks such as bathing or dressing and are increasingly performing complex medical tasks such as managing medications, dressing wounds and operating medical equipment.

It’s important to understand the types of emotional and practical challenges family caregivers face as they undertake these responsibilities. How do they cope with changing relationships, financial burdens and the distress that serious illness can provoke? And how do they balance their own needs with the needs of the person they’re caring for? More importantly, where do they find support?

In this presentation by KHN, “Navigating Aging” columnist Judith Graham speaks one-on-one with Dr. Arthur Kleinman, a distinguished professor of psychiatry and anthropology at Harvard University. He is the author of “The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a Husband and Doctor,” a new book about caring for his wife from the time she was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Graham then leads a discussion among a panel of caregivers, including the director of caregiving projects at AARP’s Public Policy Institute and a psychologist and principal at Health Management Associates out of Philadelphia.

We encourage you to take the time to listen to this enlightening presentation, because family caregivers are the backbone of our nation’s system of long-term care for older adults and will become more common place in the next 5-10 years.

Here at Tacoma Elder Care we want you to know there’s help available to you if you are managing someone’s health or are concerned you may have to in the future. We are proud to announce we will be partnering with Sound Options in 2020.

Sound Options’ integrated care management team delivers comprehensive home care, counseling, and geriatric care management services, and can provide you with all the resources you’ll need.
Today 40% of Adults aged 65+ need assistance with daily living activities, and that statistic will grow to over 70% in the near future.

Start to plan now, so that you will be prepared in the event of an illness. Begin by attending one of our FREE Workshops where you’ll learn about the 5-6 most important documents needs to have if you are over the age of 50 and learn from experts about how to build a healthcare management plan.

You can register for one of our Workshops HERE.