GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 33)

s p ec i a l a dv e rto r i a l Working Grand’s Are Caregivers Too! Most of us never think about what family caregiving entails until we are facing it head on. Caregiving can take many forms from short term events such as a broken hip, recovery from surgery, heart attack, or cancer. Or it can be longer term; in some cases extending 5, 10 or even 20 years. Sometimes our caregiving responsibilities arise instantly from a loved one’s accident or tragedy such as a fall, cancer, heart attack or stroke. In other cases, our caregiving responsibilities gradually become a more extensive part of our lives as chronic conditions mount and the process of aging takes over as with diabetes, heart or kidney disease, arthritis or dementia. Nearly 25% of working Grand’s are also presently caring for a fellow Grand or Great Grand who suffers from one or more chronic illnesses or disabilities. These caregiving responsibilities cost employers $2100 in lost productivity per employee each year. Historically, 9% of these working Grand’s will leave their employment either permanently or temporarily to care for their loved one. With the average out of pocket expense for an unpaid family caregiver at $5100 annually every dollar needs to stretch further. In these tough economic times, many Grand’s are choosing, out of necessity, to stay in the work force longer. The more chronic conditions a care recipient has, the greater the need for caregivers to address the tasks of daily living that their loved one can no longer handle on their own. power of attorney, dealing with Do Not Resuscitate Orders, and Wills. The advice of a financial advisor might be necessary if there are extraordinary costs associated with the illness, or if the family needs to address spending down to qualify for government programs or assistance. CareGiverHelper provides resources to connect you with these services, free or at a reduced cost! OrGANiziNG all of the tasks associated with caregiving can seem overwhelming. There are so many factors to consider from the important to the mundane. CareGiverHelper offers a private and secure location for you to store all of your critical information: doctor contact numbers, medications and dosages, medical conditions and more. plANNiNG or staying ahead of the caregiver treadmill can be a challenge. Use the tools and resources at CareGiverHelper to plan for your fellow Grand or Great Grand’s needs. You can locate housing if necessary; or locate back up elder care or senior daycare so the working Grand can continue working. There are also resources for assistive devices, alarms, bookkeeping and tax preparation, cleaning and moving services. SCHEduliNG doctor’s appointments, physical therapy, day care, respite and other tasks can all be handled through the communications tool at CareGiverHelper. You can also use it to schedule and coordinate other family events such as Baby and Teen Grand’s games or recitals, your book club or golf game. COMMuNiCATiNG with members of the family can be accomplished quickly and easily using the communications tool at CareGiverHelper to send off reminders, announcements and notes to members of your family community, doctors, in-home health care providers, or anyone who needs to be kept in the communications loop on the health of your care recipient. MONiTOriNG all the aspects of caregiving can be time consuming. Yet, your family community at CareGiverHelper can help you coordinate and monitor all those tasks. if you haven’t already, establish your FrEE family community at CareGiverHelper today. CareGiverHelper provides tools, resources, access to reduced cost services and products that are critical for tackling the six major tasks of caregiving: assessment, organizing, planning, scheduling, communicating and monitoring. The tools available at your CareGiverHelper family community make your caregiving job easier. During the ASSESSMENT phase caregivers might be seeking geriatric care managers or social workers to help determine if the care recipient has special needs that need to be addressed. They might need the services of legal advisors particularly if there are special issues involving “Don’t waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/ https://grand.caregiverhelper.com/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - March 2009

GRAND Magazine - March 2009 GRAND View Contents GRAND Central Isn't it GRAND? The Hippest Grand of All? Saying Goodbye Necessities, Not The Perils of the Purse Take Care Sexy at Sixty 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks Resources GRAND Finale

GRAND Magazine - March 2009

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