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Family Caregiving


JAY LENO'S LATEST ACCIDENT IS A REMINDER: CAREGIVERS SOMETIMES NEED CARE, TOO


HOW OTHER FAMILIES CAN RESPOND TO A CRISIS — OR HEAD ONE OFF

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By

Kim Painter,

 
AARP

4 Comments
En español
Published June 02, 2023
/ Updated November 20, 2024
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When comedian Jay Leno recently took a tumble while on tour in Pennsylvania,
breaking his wrist and bruising his face, it not only disrupted his dinner
plans, but may impact the care he gives his wife, Mavis, who has dementia. For
Leno — who took the stage as scheduled — and for other caregivers, the show must
go on.



Leno's accident may serve as a crucial reminder: Caregivers get injured and
sick, too. They have heart attacks and strokes; they get cancer and dementia;
they get sidelined by flu, COVID-19 and broken bones.

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Ideally, families have backup plans “B, C, D and E” to deal with those
realities, says Crystal Polizzotti, director of the Family Caregiver Support
Program at AgeSpan, a private, nonprofit agency in Massachusetts. Often, she
says, they don’t.



That means a caregiver’s new diagnosis or developing health problems may focus a
family anew or for the first time on building stronger supports, she and other
experts say.



Here are some of their recommendations for families in that situation — and
families who want to be prepared before a crisis arises.




ASSESS YOUR VILLAGE



Caregiving should never be a one-person job, says Ailene Gerhardt, a patient
advocate in Brookline, Massachusetts. “Caregiving is extraordinarily
stressful and impacts people’s health, even when they are doing just fine,” she
says. So it’s essential to ask for help and to divide up tasks. Someone can deal
with insurers and hospitals; someone else can buy groceries and pick up
prescriptions. Even a family member who lives far away can log onto a loved
one’s telemedicine visit, says Lisa Winstel, caregiving program manager at the
AARP Foundation and former chief operating officer at the Caregiver Action
Network. (It’s legal, she says, if the patient consents.) And helpers can, and
often must, come from outside the family, Gerhardt says.




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LEARN ABOUT COMMUNITY RESOURCES




There may be more help than you think, at little or no cost to you, within your
community, Polizzotti says. Your area agency on aging (AAA) can connect you with
services such as health aides, housekeeping help, meals assistance and caregiver
support groups, she says. (Her employer, AgeSpan, is an AAA.) Faith groups and
chapters of advocacy groups such as the American Cancer Society and
the Alzheimer’s Association can also provide leads, Gerhardt says. Veterans can
get help from the Department of Veterans Affairs, she adds. Your medical team,
including doctors, nurses and hospital social workers, also can make referrals,
the experts say.

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SET UP A COMMAND CENTER



Every caregiving household should have a single place, such as a binder kept on
a kitchen counter, for essential information such as medication lists, provider
contacts and outlines of daily routines, says Jennifer Crowley, a registered
nurse and life care planner in Kalispell, Montana. Ideally, she
says, medications and other daily supplies are kept in the same area.




UPDATE YOUR PAPERWORK



If the primary caregiver is listed as a health care and financial decision-maker
on official documents, make sure those documents also list people who can take
over those duties if needed, Polizzotti says. She suggests consulting an elder
law attorney. Many older people qualify for free services, she says. Also, make
sure others on your caregiving team have access to crucial online accounts and
passwords, Winstel says.




TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF



“Caregivers notoriously forget to take care of themselves,” Winstel says,
worsening existing health problems and missing chances to prevent new ones. So,
she says, “Don’t forget your flu shot. Get your mammogram. … Don’t deprioritize
your own health.”


%{postComment}%

Kim Painter is a contributing writer who specializes in health and psychology.
She frequently writes for AARP's Staying Sharp and previously worked as a health
reporter and columnist at USA Today.

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More on Caregiving

Deborah Roberts on Husband Al Roker’s ‘Very, Very Critical’ Health Crisis:
‘You’ve Got to Advocate’ 

The ABC correspondent advises family caregivers to ‘jump in and assert yourself’



How a Caregiving Grant Allowed My Sister and Me to Take a Much-Needed Vacation

Funds may be available for respite care, adult day care even some home
modifications


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