A Checklist for New Caregivers: Tips to make your job easier-Caring for an older adult, ill or Disabled adult.

Caring for an older, ill or disabled person can be challenging-especially if you are new to the task. There are steps you can take to make the job easier.

Learn about the disease, condition or illness:

*Talk to a health care provider. Ask:

Is this a long or short term situation?

What are the person’s specific care needs?

How will those needs change over time?

*Ask about special skills. For example, ask how to move someone with limited mobility or how to give medications.

*Get more information from books, pamphlets or the Internet.

Explore your options:

*Write down specific needs, such as meals, bathing, household chores, physical therapy and doctor’s appointments.

*Discuss ways to meet those needs with the person being cared for, relatives, friends and the person’s health care provider.

*Find out if you can take time off from work under the Family Medical Leave Act.

Research community Resources:

*Talk with hospital staff about services in your area. Contact your county health department about public resources.

*Call your local Area Agency on Aging and contact organizations specific to the disease, such as the Alzheimer’s Association.

*Explore options such as adult day care, meal delivery, transportation services, respite services and in-home support services.

*Consider hiring a care manager. This is a social worker or nurse who specializes in arranging care.

*Keep the information you collect in a notebook or on the computer. Even if you don’t use it now, you may later on.

Plan for immediate care:

*Ask the person being cared for about his or her wishes around immediate care.

*Adapt the living environment for special needs, such as a walker, wheelchair or bedside commode.

*Consider how you will track the person’s health and care needs. Keep a log or journal of eating patterns, medications and physical symptoms.

*If other family members are providing support, write down who will be in charge of what task.

Enlist the help of others:

*Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Don’t try to do it all.

*Make a list of people who can help.

*List the tasks that others can so, such as running errands or bringing dinner.

*Ask a friend, family member or neighbor to call people or arrange for help.

Organize important information:

*Write down:

-Doctor’s names, phone numbers and addresses

-Medical name of the illness

-Medical insurance information

-Prescription numbers, names and doses

*Organize financial information such as household bills, loans and debts, bank accounts and insurance policies.

*Photocopy important information such as the social security, driver’s license and insurance cars of the person being cared for.

Plan for the future:

*Get information about the long-term prognosis. Knowing what will happen in the future will help you plan for care.

*Access finances. Talk to a financial advisor familiar with care issues.

*Talk to a lawyer or legal aid representative about a Durable Power of Attorney for healthcare and finances.

Get Support:

*Talk to a friend, family member or counselor about your feelings.

*Join a support group.

*Do you feel overwhelmed? If so, talk to your doctor, therapist or another health professional right away.

Take care of yourself too:

*Talk to your friends and family members. Enlist their support.

*Find out if your employer has an Employee Assistance Program that provides support for caregivers.

*Let go of less important commitments. No one can do it all!

*Keep doing at least one activity or hobby that brings you pleasure.

*Take regular breaks from caregiving.

*Make sure you are meeting your own care needs: eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and spending time with family and friends.

New caregivers face many challenges-from understanding the illness to providing immediate care or planning for the future. This checklist provides an overview of common caregiving issues. For more information, visit http://www.aarp.org or to find support groups and services in your area, consult your local phone book. You can also call the Eldercare Locater at 1-800-677-1116 or visit http://www.eldercare.gov on the Internet.

Written by Mardi Richmond for Journeyworks Publishing.

*Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Journeyworks Pamphlet on ‘A Check list for New Caregivers’ and offers helpful advice for new caregivers. I have tried to include many of their pamphlets as I had found them helpful in my caregiving role and want to share them will all of my readers.