Resources for Caregivers

from Glo - November 2019

2019 glo-roscopes

By Jaclyn Youhana Garver

Her husband had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and she cared for him in their home. They had no children, so she carried 100% of the burden.

When she decided to enroll him in the hospice program at Visiting Nurse, she received a variety of help: a home health aide to take care of his physical needs, nurses for his medical needs and people to sit with him so she could attend support groups and have some time to herself.

“I saw her last week, and she’s doing a lot better,” says Bonnie BlackburnPenhollow, director of communications for Visiting Nurse. “She actually told us she’s able to be a wife rather than a nurse. They made the vows to care for each other in sickness and in health, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have someone holding your hand to help you through this process.”

Caregivers are those people who provide care for a loved one during an illness, and that amount of around-the-clock care—while watching a friend or family member go through a difficult time—can wear on a person.

November is Family Caregivers Awareness Month, and the best thing to be aware of is the variety of resources and support available to help caregivers in northeast Indiana, especially because it’s so common for caregivers to neglect their own needs.

Blackburn-Penhollow mentioned the Sandwich Generation, that population of people who have both young children and aging parents. In addition to caring for these two groups, Sandwich Generation members often work fulltime.

“Physically it’s very demanding, but emotionally, it’s almost even harder,” she said. “You think about a daughter who has looked up to her dad all his life and suddenly has to clean up his bodily functions. That’s demanding, and that’s emotionally tough for people.”

“I don’t think anyone can really understand or plan for how intense caregiving can be,” Blackburn-Penhollow said. “It’s hard enough for a lot of us to take care of ourselves on a regular basis, but to add in another person whose needs can be very demanding can be extremely stressful.”

Visiting Nurse offers caregiver support ranging from social workers to nondenominational spiritual care. It also provides resources, including grief yoga and caregiver education—teaching caregivers what to do in case of a crisis. Volunteers can sit with a patient to give a caregiver a brief break, and respite care can help for up to five days. During respite care, a patient can stay in Visiting Nurse’s hospital location.

Mad Anthonys Children’s Hope House is a pediatric hospitality house that provides support for families with hospitalized children, especially those who need intensive care and/ or urgent medical attention, explained Melissa Dessaigne, Hope House’s executive director. It currently has three homes in Fort Wayne, including a four-bedroom home at St. Joseph Hospital specifically for families of burn survivors.

“Similar to a Ronald McDonald house, Paul’s Place provides temporary, fully furnished two-bedroom apartments for adult patients and their caregivers who come to Fort Wayne for medical treatment,” said Amy Torrez-Alfaro, who founded the nonprofit in 2015.

Paul’s Place also provides nutritional and spiritual counseling, plus caregiver training for those caring for someone with cancer.