What does the word “caregiver” mean to you? If you’re like many people, you probably think of a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Occupational Therapist, or nurse working at an assisted living facility or maybe making house visits to provide medical care.
Yes, those individuals are caregivers, but they aren’t the only ones who can claim that title. While they are professional caregivers, there are many people who are informal or family caregivers who don’t even realize it!
If you are helping a loved one with basic needs, such as setting and transporting to and from medical appointments, organizing medication, or helping with household chores, you are a caregiver. If you’ve never thought of yourself as one, you’re not alone.
According to a study done by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP Public Policy Institute, 40 million Americans are providing unpaid care for an adult family member or friend, but most do not consider themselves caregivers. You do not have to be a professional caregiver to be a caregiver!
I recently asked a friend about how she viewed herself when her father-in-law moved in with them so they could help manage his needs. She said, “Truthfully, we just thought of ourselves as his children that he lived with.” She did not think of herself as a caregiver at first, because she and her husband were just taking care of family.
Johns Hopkins defines a caregiver as “a person who tends to the needs or concerns of a person with short- or long-term limitations due to illness, injury, or disability.” The term “family caregiver” can describe someone who cares for a member of their family of origin, but also may refer to someone who cares for a non-relative loved one such as a neighbor or friend. Family caregivers may be paid, but often are not.
You may be caring for your spouse with dementia, a parent with diabetes, a neighbor who recently fell, or a friend who is just unable to manage like they used to. All of these are examples of family caregivers.
Family caregivers often help with tasks like bathing and grooming, laundry, food shopping and preparation, basic housekeeping, managing medications, transportation, emotional support, communicating with doctors, and more. Helping a loved one with these things doesn’t feel like caregiving because you are just helping and meeting their basic needs, which is why you may not think of yourself as a caregiver.
Once you begin to understand that the definition of a caregiver goes beyond the professionals, you can begin to tap into some of the support that is available to family caregivers. CareWell Services Southwest, the Area Agency on Aging for Barry and Calhoun counties, provides many types of support for caregivers.
CareWell Services’ Caregiver Resource Center (CRC) is open Monday through Friday from 2:00 pm to 4:00pm on the second floor of the Kool Family Community Center. Inside the CRC, you’ll find educated medical staff that can listen and help you locate services you may need. The CRC also provides workshops and classes around various topics such as diabetes or dementia care, Powerful Tools for Caregivers, and support groups for caregivers.
For family caregivers who may be balancing their job or taking care of young children while also caregiving, CareWell Services offers access to an online caregiving portal called Trualta. The portal includes quick snippets of information that take less than 10 minutes for each video or article, some as quick as 2 minutes. Information is available on a range of topics related to specific diseases or managing daily living with general aging processes. There are also webinars, online support groups, events, community forums to ask questions, and a dedicated caregiver section. Registration for the portal is free and available on our website at https://carewellservices.org/caregiver-resource-center/.
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter said, “There are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. Caregiving is universal.”
Now that you know that caregivers aren’t just professionals, let others know as well! There are many free resources available to those providing care for loved ones. Call CareWell Services at (269) 966-2450 or visit our website at carewellservices.org to learn more about how we can support you as you care for others!