Caregiver Support & Resources
Being a caregiver for loved one is exhausting but endlessly rewarding. As a caregiver, you need help and support, too.
Home Health and Hospice’s primary role in providing high-quality patient care is educating and supporting the patient’s caregivers. We know that caregivers play a crucial role in all aspects of the patient’s care.
Our staff also can offer guidance on other local services that might assist your loved one’s care at home.
Doctors & Care Team Locations
Who Are Caregivers?
Family, friends, partners and neighbors may all be caregivers. Most do not identify themselves as a caregiver but identify with the primary role they have with patient.
Tips for Caregivers
- Be an advocate for your loved one.
- Oversee his/her care as a care coordinator.
- Write down observations of situations.
- Hold a family conference/create a family care team.
- Tell others what you need.
- Keep good records (physician appointments, medications, medical history of patient and financial).
- Establish a daily regime or schedule.
- Use a communication notebook for family or staff involved in patient care.
- Get to know any staff involved in the patient’s care.
- Search “caregiver” on the web for a wealth of information.
How to Avoid Caregiver Stress and Burnout
- Tune into your own feelings.
- Understand symptoms of stress and burnout (withdrawal, general irritability, feeling blue or hopeless, changes in appetite or sleep, emotional or physical exhaustion).
- Know when to seek help from professionals.
Caregiver Burnout Prevention
- Talk about your feelings.
- Create realistic goals.
- Be realistic about your loved one’s disease.
- Realize some things are uncontrollable.
- Take advantage of respite from family or area services.
Discover the Gifts of Caregiving
- In the busyness of the day, try to find the small joys and inspirations of caregiving.
- Celebrate even the small successes.
- Laugh — remember to include humor to lighten everyone’s stress.
- Take time to just sit and visit with your loved one — to not always be “doing.”
- Help your loved one discover his/her legacy.
- Talk about the stresses and joys in both your roles as caregiver and care receiver.
Helpful Web Resources
- Minnesota Area Agencies on Aging
Includes planning and service areas, and information about caregiver support services such as caregiver consultants.
- Live Well at Home
This resource tool for older adults and the people who help them takes a risk management approach to supporting older adults in their own homes. The site includes the Rapid Screen, a long-term care cost calculator, and a helpful Family and Friends page.
- Caregiver Link
This online public information and referral portal provides resources for caregivers of older adults and professionals within MinnesotaHelpinfo. Consumers and professionals may search for a particular service in their community.
- Senior Linkage Line
Minnesota’s toll-free information and assistance service for older adults and families can be reached at 800-333-2433. The Eldercare Locator also is available for family caregivers of older adults living outside Minnesota at 800-677-1116.
- Minnesota Board on Aging
The Family Caregiver page contains resource brochures such as balancing work and caregiving and tips for conducting a family meeting.
This caregiver awareness campaign is provided by the Amherst Wilder Foundation.
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