A "family caregiver" is anyone who provides any type of physical and/or
emotional care for an ill or disabled loved one at home. Loved ones in
need of care, could be suffering from a physical or mental illness, disability,
substance misuse, or other conditions.
There are different types of family caregivers:
|
 |
Parents |
|
Adult
children |
|
Spouses |
|
Family
members |
|
Neighbors |
|
Friends |
Regardless of how you became a caregiver, you are about to take on a new
role for which you may not feel prepared. It is normal for you to feel
nervous or overwhelmed about what is expected of you. You may experience
a number of mixed emotions including anxiety, anger, and sadness. At the
same time, you will probably feel the desire to care for your loved one
the best way you can.
At a time when hospitals are releasing patients earlier, the elderly
are living longer, and people are living with many chronic illnesses,
more family members and friends are caring for loved ones at home. Often,
people find themselves having to perform new and unfamiliar tasks. These
may include giving medicines, assisting with meals, and performing medical
and nursing procedures.
Examples of possible task can be:
|
Personal
care |
|
Emotional
support |
|
Medical
care |
|
Household
management |
|
Supervision |
|
Translation
services in medical settings |
Net of Care is a community resource network for caregivers of the medically ill.
NetofCare.org is a site that can help caregivers feel less isolated and
overwhelmed by making them the best caregiver they can be.
Net of Care features:
|
Online
support, education, and information on daily aspects of caregiving
|
|
Local
and national resources searchable by type of illness, service needs
and location |
|
Patient
and caregiver E-newsletter |
|
Health
topics, such as, making health care decisions, communicating with
health care professionals, pain management at home, managing medical
emergencies, caregiver needs, stress management, and hospice care
|
|
Telephone
support groups for caregivers |
We want caregivers to be informed about available services, recognize when
caregivers need help, and know how to ask for and accept assistance from
others.
The Family
Caregiver Program of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care,
founded in 1998, has achieved tremendous progress in addressing the needs
of caregivers and providing useful resources through the close collaboration
with a broad range of community-based service organizations and national
not-for-profit agencies dedicated to addressing caregiver needs.
To date, the Family Caregiver Program has:
|
Conducted
caregiver research and disseminated findings to caregivers and health
care professionals |
|
Evaluated
the capacity of Internet-enhanced communication to caregivers, such
as webcasts and Spanish-speaking telephone support groups |
|
Educated
health care professionals and community-based organization staff in
the New York area about caregivers’ psychosocial needs to increase
awareness |
|
Developed
a Brief Caregiver Screening Scale (BCSS), made up of 14 reliable questions
to assess caregiver burden |
|
Incorporated
the role of caregivers into medical training programs |
|
Produced,
published, and distributed nationally 15,000 copies of the Caregiver
Resource Directory |
The Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care is dedicated to providing
the highest quality of comprehensive care in pain management and palliative
care, and advancing the educational and research aims of these disciplines.
|
Established
in 1997, it is the first department of its kind in a University hospital
in the United States |
|
First
program jointly devoted to pain management and palliative care |
|
Includes
multiple disciplines: physicians in diverse specialties, nurses, social
workers, chaplain, psychologists and volunteers |
|
Includes
an inpatient unit, consultation team, an ambulatory practice, home
care program, and certified hospice program |
|
Recognizes
the importance of education, training, and research, and created the
Institute for Education and Research in Pain and Palliative Care to
support these activities |
|
Net of Care Brochure.pdf
|
Caregiving
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