Question: I live close to my parents and my other siblings live out of town. The responsibility for care is falling mostly to me. I sometimes don’t even know where to start to get help. What resources are out there for me to use? How do I know when to get help?

Answer: Thank you for helping your parents. I am going to answer your last question first. NOW, is the best time to get help. If you are being asked to help family members, a spouse, or neighbors in anyway, it is always a good time to ask for help. Help is available in many forms. Help is available from many sources in our region. There is not one way to get older. We all age differently and therefore need different things. Your parents will need different things done for them then your in-laws might have needed. There are so many answers to your questions. I am going to try to hit some high points and maybe give you some upcoming events that could help.

One thing I always recommend is to reach out to family and friends to see what their experiences have been like. When they were in this situation what worked for them? What options for services did they find?

The next recommendation I would make is reach out to agencies in your area. This could be referral service, like NYConnects at 753-4582. This is a New York state funded referral service. The number listed is for Chautauqua County, and there is a similar number for counties across the state. This NYConnects has information available about services for ALL ages, not just older people. This NYConnects contact is useful information for anyone.

Another resource could be professionals, like physicians, attorney’s, Geriatric Care Managers or Social Workers. These individuals often have helped many individuals and families through the aging process. They may have resources they can give to you that are appropriate for your situation. They also can provide an ongoing relationship to help you adjust your plan of care as your parent’s situation changes.

Another useful source of information is Caregiver Support Groups and Caregiver Trainings. This resource is more peer to peer learning. The opportunity to learn with and from other caregivers. These are individuals who are in a situation similar to yours and trying to learn from and teach each other about successes they have had. You will also learn from each other’s mistakes, which is also helpful. There are a number of Caregiver Support Groups throughout the area. Some of them are disease specific type groups, but others are designed for anyone who is a caregiver. Those caregiver Support Groups are usually listed in the newspaper event section. There is a list of groups that you can get from NYConnects 753-4582.

See SLUGA, Page A8

Sluga

From Page A5

There are also Caregiver Trainings held periodically, and there is one coming up pretty soon. I have signed up for this training, as I find I can always learn something, so attend these events regularly.

On Thursday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a Community Caregiver Conference presented by Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. This will be held on the Heritage Retirement Campus at 4600 route 60 in Gerry, N.Y. This all day event will have speakers throughout the day on many important topics for the Caregivers in our region. This training comes at no cost to you. In addition to the many discussion topics there will be agencies from the region who will be there to give you time to talk about what you need and give you materials to keep and help you.

The topics covered at Community Caregiver Conference will be issues related to Financial Planning, Caregiver Stress, Eye Health, Balance & Safety Issues, Medication Safety, Levels of Care available, the Language of Caregiving, & Humor in Caregiving. That last topic I am really excited about. All the information will be great and useful. I have attended a Humor in Caregiving class and it was SO much fun!

Caregiving is a stressful responsibility and the goal of this event is to give you some tools and resources to help with this responsibility. The tool than can be helpful for all of us is to remember to have fun once in a while. You will enjoy this day of training if you decide to attend.

If you are want to attend this Community Caregiver Conference you need to RSVP. Lunch is provided so they need an accurate count. You can call Chautauqua Opportunities at 366-3335 (ext. 1236) or Heritage at 985-6866 to make your reservation. This is a free conference, so all you need to bring is yourself and an open mind, ready to learn. The learning sessions are designed to give you the information you need in a small group setting. The vendor fair is an opportunity for you to talk to the 20 or so agencies who will be there to help you with all aspects of caregiving, some you may not have even thought about yet.

I would like to thank you for all you are doing for your parents. It is my hope that your siblings are supportive of your efforts as well. It is important to keep them informed of what is happening and what issues of concern you have. This will also encourage them to help in the ways that they can. Even though they are out of town, there are things they can help with.

I would also advise to never stop asking questions. There are always new and different things happening with Aging Services, so what is available in the future may not be available today. These Conferences, and Support Groups are one of the ways you can learn about new services available. So I hope to see you on March 30 at the Community Caregiver conference. Don’t forget to make at reservations to Chautauqua Opportunities at 366-3335 (ext. 1236) or Heritage at 985-6866.

To contact Janell Sluga, GCMC with questions or concerns, please call 720-9797 or e-mail her at janells@lutheran-jamestown.org.