“Unpaid Caregivers Were Already Struggling. It’s Only Gotten Worse During The Pandemic” – NPR
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for unpaid caregivers, with many reporting symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.” – Portra Images via Getty Images
by Rhitu ChatterJee
“The pandemic has taken a massive toll on people’s mental health. But a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms what many of us are seeing and feeling in our own lives: The impact has been particularly devastating for parents and unpaid caregivers of adults.
“Two-thirds of survey respondents who identified as unpaid caregivers said they experienced mental health challenges during the pandemic, such as symptoms of anxiety or depression, or suicidal thoughts.
“Only one-third of people with no caregiving responsibilities reported the same symptoms.
“Of the more than 10,000 survey respondents, more than 40% identified as being unpaid caregivers.
“‘What is striking here is just how widespread unpaid caregiving responsibilities are in the population and how much of a burden and a toll these responsibilities’ are having, says Shantha Rajaratnam, a co-author of the study and a psychologist at the Turner Institute of Brain and Mental Health at Monash University in Australia.”
Click here to read this article at NPR in its entirety.
“Caring for an Aging Nation” – KHN
“The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to nearly double in the next 40 years. Finding a way to provide and pay for the long-term health services they need won’t be easy.”
(LYDIA ZURAW / KHN)
by Lydia Zuraw and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
“Health care for the nation’s seniors looms large as the baby-boom generation ages into retirement. President Joe Biden tacitly acknowledged those needs in March with his proposal to spend $400 billion over the next eight years to improve access to in-home and community-based care.
“The swelling population of seniors will far outpace growth in other age groups. That acceleration — and the slower growth in other age groups — could leave many older Americans with less family to rely on for help in their later years. Meanwhile, federal officials estimate that more than half of people turning 65 will need long-term care services at some point. That care is expensive and can be hard to find.”
Click here to see the Kaiser Health Network data visualizations in full.
“Aiding Her Dying Husband, a Geriatrician Learns the Emotional and Physical Toll of Caregiving” – Kaiser Health News
Dr. Rebecca Elon’s life took an unexpected turn in 2013 when she noticed personality changes and judgment lapses in her husband, Dr. William Henry Adler III. He was eventually diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia with motor neuron disease and died in February. (Dr. Kris Kuhn)
by Judith Graham
“The loss of a husband. The death of a sister. Taking in an elderly mother with dementia.
“This has been a year like none other for Dr. Rebecca Elon, who has dedicated her professional life to helping older adults.
“It’s taught her what families go through when caring for someone with serious illness as nothing has before. ‘Reading about caregiving of this kind was one thing. Experiencing it was entirely different,’ she told me.
“Were it not for the challenges she’s faced during the coronavirus pandemic, Elon might not have learned firsthand how exhausting end-of-life care can be, physically and emotionally — something she understood only abstractly previously as a geriatrician.
“And she might not have been struck by what she called the deepest lesson of this pandemic: that caregiving is a manifestation of love and that love means being present with someone even when suffering seems overwhelming.
“All these experiences have been ‘a gift, in a way: They’ve truly changed me,’ said Elon …
Continue reading this article in its entirety at KHN, click here.
“‘Ever Forward’ — Leeza Gibbons Talks About Caregiving” – next avenue
“How her organization is responding to burdens caregivers have been feeling, and the lessons she learned from her late mom who had Alzheimer’s”
Leezagibbons.com – caregiving videos
by Rosanne Corcoran
“I had the pleasure of meeting Leeza Gibbons through a journaling program for caregivers coordinated by Leeza’s Care Connection, her organization which offers programs, resources, strategies and support for those caring for a loved one with a chronic illness or Alzheimer’s disease. Her work has become her passion and mission.
“Leeza Gibbons might be someone you may feel like you know from her Emmy-award winning television career, her New York Times bestselling books or even from winning “The Celebrity Apprentice.” But that wasn’t the Leeza Gibbons I met.
“The one I met was a caregiver who understood the sadness, the grief and the longing I feel in the midst of my caring for my mother who has Alzheimer’s disease, because Gibbons lost her mother in the same way. Her positivity and compassion have the ability to just make you feel better, even virtually through Zoom, as I think you’ll see in my interview with her below (it has been edited for length and clarity):”
April 01 – FREE WEBINAR: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Webinar
This webinar will give grandparents raising grandchildren and anyone working with them, tips and resources that are available in Pennsylvania.
Things to Keep in Mind When Working With Grandfamilies
Families come in all shapes and sizes.
Grandparents or even Great-Grandparents, raising their grandchildren (Grandfamilies) are becoming more and more prevalent and these families have a unique set of needs.
In order to be an effective service provider for your grandfamilies take a look at these tips below which come directly from individuals who have raised or are currently raising their grandchildren.
What is The Grandfamilies Act, and How Will it Impact Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren?
This project was developed, in part, under grant number 1H79SM082194-02 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S.
Saturday webinars | Link Service Area 13 kicks off “Let’s get Tech Savvy” webinar series designed to help you get connected.
“In the USA, only 59% of people over the age of 65 use the Internet daily, as opposed to 86% of all adults under 65.”
That’s the entire reason the Pennsylvania Link to Aging and Disability Resources’ Berks-Lancaster-Lebanon Service Area scheduled the Saturday morning (March 6) webinar. This was the first in a series of planned webinars that are designed to erase and lessen the fears that many people may have about using digital technology.
It’s tough trying to deliver taking training about how to use a smart phone, a tablet or a computer to persons who may not have the technology, the experience or the connectivity. It’s also tough to not have internet access and technological skills needed to find a Covid vaccination site. Or to file an online unemployment claim. Or to schedule a medical appointment.
But the intent of this series of webinars is to lessen the trepidation and the uncertainty of the technology in small bite-sized blocks of 30 to 40 minute online webinars. The Link coordinator hopes that caregivers, family members and agency resources who interact with persons with low or no digital savvy will share the webinar information with them.
For instance, here’s a video recording of Saturday’s “Baby Steps” Webinar: https://1drv.ms/v/s!Agtzmyc10ssBgxni4YdAzYOFpFiO?e=Sdb3wR
The next Webinar will be in two weeks and will be announced at the Link Website and hopefully in local media. For more information about upcoming Webinars, send an email to blllink@mail.com or call / text: 717.308.9714.
Those who’ve ventured into owning a smart phone know “how many times a day your phone, computer, tablet, watch and other gadgets buzz or ding. It gets annoying and distracting.”
Upcoming webinars will deal with smart phone questions, but here’s a Kim Kommando column that’s especially topical: “How to stop junk text messages and spam for good.”
“Addressing Social Needs Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans” – Center for Health Care Strategies
by Nancy Archibald
“COVID-19 has hit some populations harder than others. This includes people of color, residents of nursing facilities and other congregate settings, and individuals with multiple chronic medical conditions. People in these groups are often dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid because they have a disability or are age 65 or older, and also have low incomes. Recent federal data show that dually eligible individuals are more likely to contract COVID-19 than Medicare-only beneficiaries and are hospitalized with COVID-19-related complications more than four times as often.
“Dually eligible individuals also frequently have significant social risk factors, which if addressed, could improve their access to care, health outcomes, and quality of life. With support from Arnold Ventures, the Center for Health Care Strategies recently partnered with the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) to examine how its Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) members were addressing their enrollees’ social risk factors.
“As a supplement to this work, ACAP and CHCS explored how ACAP-member plans, including D-SNPs and Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MMPs), are addressing existing and new social risk factors of their dually eligible enrollees during the pandemic. Information from 14 plans was collected in an October 2020 survey. Click here to continue reading this article.
Register for this special FREE interactive webinar. It’s is about compassion, patience, and loving more deeply and completely.
NOTE: DATE CORRECTION
Register in advance for this interactive webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_En5vdQVrR7ya9nSVES4tCA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Ruth & Erica: “A free YouTube TV series is a realistic story about the struggles, fears, and sacrifices that family caregivers often face”
Ruth and Erica is an interesting and captivating online mini-series in abbreviated less than 10 minute episodes. The comments above are from several of the episodes.
Somehow in the middle of an internet search vortex, we came across the first episode of this captivating mini-series. It is so captivating and well acted that we wound up binge watching the entire series. Know what? We don’t feel at all guilty. The characters are brilliantly cast in a riveting slice of real life for many.
What are the dynamics of aging parents with career focused children? What about the onset of the afflictions of aging? What about the senses of loss and frustration.
Here are a few articles about the YouTube FREE mini-series:
TV show about caring for aging parents: Ruth and Erica
Ruth & Erica – An Interesting Online Series for Caregivers
Lois Smith in The Americans and in Ruth & Erica
Here are links to the episodes in the entire mini-series. We hope you find the mni-series interesting and thought-inspiring.
- Episode 2
- Episode 3
- Episode 4
- Episode 5
- Episode 6
- Episode 7
- Episode 8
- Episode 9
- Episode 10
- Episode 11
- Episode 12
- Episode 13
Six tips for long-distance caregiving – National Institute on Aging
Anyone who is caring for an aging friend, relative, or parent from afar can be considered a long-distance caregiver. Whether you are helping with finances, arranging for care, or providing emotional support, long-distance caregiving can bring a host of unique challenges.
Keep these tips in mind to help make life more manageable:
- Learn as much as you can about your loved one’s health, treatments, and available caregiving resources.
- Organize important paperwork.
- Consider caregiving training.
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