The challenge of “family caregiving” – providing care for a spouse, parent, child or friend with a chronic, disabling or serious health condition – is becoming nearly universal. A report issued last year by the Public Policy Institute of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) estimated that there are now 40 million family caregivers in the United States who provide 37 billion hours of care to aging loved ones with limitations in daily activities.
Being a family caregiver for a loved one takes time, effort and work, and is both rewarding and demanding. In fact, the AARP report observed that “family caregiving today is more complex, costly, stressful, and demanding than at any time in human history.” The biggest source of stress? “Millions of people who take on this caregiving role have no idea what to do, how to do it, or where to get help.”
As a family caregiver, you will face many challenges and have many questions. And you may not always have the answers, know what to expect or how to react. That’s why Sheridan Care Desert Cities – Palm Springs, the premiere provider of in-home care in the Coachella Valley, is delighted to offer training and support resources for family caregivers, to help you better care for the needs of your loved one…and yourself.
The Sheridan Care Family Learning Center is free for family caregivers who provide home care for friends or loved ones who are homebound, suffer from a debilitating disease or who are simply aging and need companion care. Available online, the site includes over 50 training topics created just for family caregivers that cover everything from basic caregiver training to Alzheimer’s disease and memory care. You’ll find interactive and engaging courses, videos and tip sheets that will help you understand the multiple perspectives and challenges that go along with providing care.
By taking caregivers step-by-step through a specific topic with engaging and interactive video, the courses are narrated, but can also be read onscreen, allowing caregivers to learn through the method most comfortable to them. Just some of the topics family caregivers can learn about in the Family Learning Center include:
- Becoming a Caregiver
- Care Planning
- Challenging Behaviors
- Daily Care Skills
- Elimination and Toileting
- Nutrition and Hydration
- Promoting and Maintaining Good Mobility
- Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Family Learning Center courses focus on multi-generational family caregiving and are designed to be immediately available to families who need help, but don’t always know where to turn for information or support. The Family Learning Center makes it easy for family caregivers to always have a caregiving resource to turn to whenever they need it because it’s available online 24/7, accessed directly from the Sheridan Care website.
There aren’t a lot of resources available to family caregivers to make their challenges easier. We hope the Family Learning Center answers a lot of questions, provides some much-needed training and support and helps caregivers keep their loved ones more comfortable and remaining at home.