Seniors' Caregiver Handbook
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People and Organizations in North Toronto SENIORS’ CAREGIVER HANDBOOK ADVOCACY INFORMATION COMMUNITY CARE RESOURCES GUIDANCE SUPPORT A STEP BY STEP GUIDE pointinc.org Acknowledgements I have greatly enjoyed the experience of creating the second edition of the Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook , and working in partnership with a supportive team of individuals, in an effort to offer a practical and user-friendly guide to assist Caregivers in providing the best quality of life possible for the senior family member, friend, or neighbour. Thank you to all the members of the PLANTSS Committee, especially Care Watch Toronto, SAINTS, SPRINT, and Toronto Community Care Access Centre, who contributed ideas, advice, and professional expertise to the Handbook. Many thanks to the individual Caregivers, North Toronto and Toronto-wide agencies, and volunteers who provided input, shared personal experiences, assisted with data collection, organizing information, and proof reading the materials for the Handbook. A special word of appreciation to Judith Wahl, Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, for her guidance and allowing the use of materials especially pertaining to legal issues and accommodation facilities for seniors. Thank you to the Ontario Seniors Secretariat for the funding to produce the original Caregiver Handbook, and International Year of Older Persons Committee for supporting the original proposal to create the Handbook. Special thanks to the following organizations, groups and government departments for sharing their printed materials and resources with us: Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, Canadian Medical Association, Caregiver Alliance of North York, Family Caregivers’ Support Network, Health Canada, Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, Saint Elizabeth Health Care Foundation, The Caregiver Network Inc., and Woodgreen Community Centre. Finally, many thanks to POINT, the sponsoring agency, and Diane Werner, Executive Director, and the POINT staff; John Patton, Blythe Runnett, and Janice Webster for the coordination, support and technical aspects of producing this handbook . Sincerely, Joan Berndt Volunteer, POINT April 2011 SENIORS’ CAREGIVER HANDBOOK Table of Contents What is a Caregiver………………………………………………… Section 1 When Does a Person Become a Care-Receiver…………………. Section 2 Caring for the Caregiver……………………………………………… Section 3 Where to Start: Helpful Information You Should Gather………… Section 4 Power of Attorney…………………………………………………… Section 5 Community Care Access Centres and LHINs……………………... Section 6 Support Services for the Caregiver & the Care Receiver ………… Section 7 Services that can be Available in the Home……………………… Section 8 Health Care Resources……………………………………………… Section 9 Nutrition……………………………………………………………… Section 10 Transportation……………………………………………………… Section 11 Accommodation………………………………………………………Section 12 Elder Abuse………………………………………………………… Section 13 Advocacy……………………………………………………………... Section 14 Hospice/Palliative Care…………………………………………….. Section 15 Concluding Comments and Feedback Form MISSION STATEMENT This Handbook is a step by step guide to provide information, guidance and support for you as a Caregiver. The Handbook offers information about a variety of resources that are available to help you with caregiving. It also provides suggestions to assist you in accessing and effectively interacting with Community Support agencies, health care service providers, support groups and various organizations. Our goal is to help you as a Caregiver to provide the best quality of care for the Care-Receiver and equally important to maintain well-being and a positive outlook for yourself. Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook Section 1 What is a Caregiver? Definition of a Caregiver - A person, male or female, who provides care in the name of protection, supervision and conscientiousness. A Caregiver is: - a spouse - a relative - a friend/neighbour - a professional You become a Caregiver when you assume the responsibility to provide help or a service that the Care-Receiver normally or regularly performed. The Caregivers’ Bill of Rights 1. I have the right to take care of my own needs. 2. I have the right to feel and appropriately express all of my feelings, positive and negative. 3. I have the right to set limits about how much I am willing to do. 4. I have the right to ask other family members and friends for help. 5. I have the right to seek professional help and information that will make my job as Caregiver easier. 6. I have the right to develop areas of my life that have nothing to do with the care of the receiver. 7. I have the right to free time. 8. I have the right to feel good about the difficult job I am doing. 9. I have a responsibility to be honest and truthful. 10. I have a responsibility to respect the Care-Receiver. 11. I have a responsibility to encourage good relations with other care providers and family members. (Source: Caregiver Alliance of North York) 1 Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook Your Notes - Section 1 ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................ 2 Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook Section 2 When does a person become a Care-Receiver Aging in Place: Indicators of health problems needing assistance: repeated memory loss failure to cook meals, not getting proper nutrition forgetting to turn stove off, burned pots unable to organize shopping forgetting to do banking or pay bills unable to bath, incontinence personal appearance begins to look messy unable to do laundry or do housekeeping becomes isolated in home misuse or under use of medications continued worrying about not having enough money obsession with theft of money or possessions weight loss Cognitive Impairment Symptoms: loss of short-term memory, repetition of thoughts impaired visual-spatial ability disorientation difficulty choosing and using words loss of ability to perform daily functions hallucinating Signs of Dementia: loss of short-term memory and long-term memory impaired visual-spatial ability problems with abstract thinking impaired judgement difficulties with language personality changes 3 Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook Signs of Depression: inability to concentrate or make decisions lack of enjoyment or enthusiasm for anything changes in eating habits - weight loss or gain lack of interest in being with other people feeling unwanted or worthless sadness or crying for no apparent reason problems with sleeping feeling tired most of the time What Leads to Depression: recent physical or medical problems reaction to medication changes in hearing, seeing, moving or other functions recent personal losses, (family, friend or pet) isolation not feeling useful not being mentally stimulated focusing on the past and not feeling enthusiastic about the future not getting the proper nutrition Mental Health You can encourage positive mental health by: involving your Care-Receiver in decision-making as long as possible accepting the personality and emotional changes after an illness recognizing the strengths and abilities of the Care-Receiver encouraging the Care-Receiver to socialize with friends and relatives arranging fun times helping Care-Receiver to start hobbies or revive old ones encouraging activities outside, if possible listening, talking and sharing feelings assuring privacy and dignity encouraging exercise communicating with the Care-Receiver 4 Seniors’ Caregiver Handbook If you are concerned about the mental health of the Care-Receiver and/or you notice these symptoms as previously described then: have