More than 44 million American Families are Caring for a Loved One at Home.

Am I a Caregiver?

 

· I provide regular emotional or physical assistance to my spouse, parent, adult child, neighbor or friend.

· I help a senior pay bills.

· I shop or do errands for a senior.

· I drive a senior to the doctor or take him/her to a community center.

· I remind a senior when to take pills.

· I provide personal care.

●    I regularly prepare meals or clean house   for a senior.

Caring for a parent, spouse or friend at home can be overwhelming. If you are like most caregivers you want to feel you are doing everything you can to provide the best care possible. Plus like many caregivers, you may have many other commitments including a job and additional family.

But you're not alone. The American Red Cross has a Family Caregiving Program and a Family Caregiving reference guide to assist caregivers. This exciting new program offers you a helping hand by providing a variety of information-packed sessions covering topics that can help you provide the care that your loved one may need, including subjects such as home safety, healthy eating, and bathing, as well as legal and financial issues. There's even a session that helps you take care of yourself.

This Family Caregiving Pogram has been designed to:

►Teach skills for caring for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled at home;

►Help organizations in the communities served by the American Red Cross provide services that benefit the growing    senior population

►Prepare families to take on the responsibility and challenges of caring for a loved one at home.

 The program consists of  nine individual topic-based modules for caregivers.

· Home Safety

· General Caregiving Skills

· Positioning and Helping Your Loved One Move

· Assisting with Personal Care

· Healthy Eating

· Caring for the Caregiver

· Legal and Financial Issues

· Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia

●    Caring for a Loved One with HIV/AIDS

Modules

 · Home Safety  The module, Home Safety helps to prepare individuals who are family caregivers to provide a safe

environment for themselves and the person in their care by keeping their homes safe from hazards and fires; to

recognize the importance of knowing how to use equipment such as wheelchairs;  to understand how to protect

themselves  and their loves one from infection; and to understand how to be prepared for emergencies.

· Positioning and Helping Your Loved One Move  This module will help prepare caregivers to safely positions and

help their loved one move by applying principles of good body mechanics; to understand the importance of

repositioning a loved one who spends a lot of time in bed; to recognize how to prevent pressure ulcers; and to

understand how to safely help their loved one move.

· General Caregiving  The module helps     to prepare caregivers to measure their loved one's vital; signs such as

pulse, respirations and body temperature and how to assist with medications.

· Assisted with Personal Care  The Assisting with Personal Care Module concerns helping to prepare individuals to

assist their loved one with personal care such as bathing, grooming and using the toilet.

· Healthy Eating  Health Eating Module will help prepare caregivers to learn about good nutrition and helping their

loved one eat.

· Caring for the Caregiver  Caring for the Caregiver will help prepare caregivers to care for their own health while

caring for a loved one.

· Legal and Financial Issues  Legal and Financial Issues will help prepare individuals to understand the legal issues

surrounding caring for someone and planning his or her health care; and understand financial issues such as

insurance information and budgeting.

●     Caring for a loved one with Alzhei mer's disease or Dementia  This module helps to inform caregivers to

under stand how to deal with the common behaveiors, how to provide care and to recognize the signs of             depression associated with this disease