FINDING PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVERS. The following people will be happy to arrange for your week in Bermuda, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PAY for the professional caregivers they supply. To get an idea of the cost, multiply the hourly rate they quote by 24, because they charge for a 24-hour day. (And now you know why most caregivers don’t go on vacation.)

http://www.eldercarelink.com/

     The above organization is not the only one that offers elder care services. Google can tell you what else is available in your area.

     NOW A WORD OF HOPE. The person who actually does the work gets a relatively small portion of what these agencies charge. So it may be possible, through word of mouth such as through your church, to find an experienced caregiver willing to work directly for you at a much lower rate.

CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER

     I’ve been checking to see if new helps have emerged since I was in the trenches and did find some pretty good information.

     First, you may find helpful information at this website by the NATIONAL CAREGIVERS ASSOCIATION:

http://www.strengthforcaring.com/

     You’ll also find that THE AARP CARES ABOUT THE CAREGIVER’S HEALTH. So many senior caregivers are seniors themselves.

http://www.aarp.org/health/staying_healthy/
prevention/caregiver_health.html

     They also have “Who’s Caring For The Caregivers?”

http://www.aarp.org/research/press-center/
presscurrentnews/caring_for_caregivers.html

     IF YOU’RE CARING FOR SOMEONE WHO IS NOT ELDERLY, skip to the U.S. “USA.gov” option below. IF CARING FOR AN ELDERLY PERSON, first fill out the forms at the Eldercare Locator:

http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare/Public/Home.asp

     What you’ll get is the address and phone numbers of your local Agency on Aging. Now, these are busy people, and it’s best to get an idea of what’s available before you call. Use USA.GOV, which lists federal, state, local government agencies and offerings:

http://www.usa.gov/

     To see what’s available, put first into the search box the name of your state (federal funds for all these programs go through the states), followed by various search terms – such as caregiver for cystic fibrosis, caregiver for aging, caregiver for Alzheimer’s, caregiver for cancer. Then poke around in the listings that come up and follow the best leads.

     Also do poke around in the USA.gov listings for your STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. It very likely has programs to help you. You won’t get a week in Bermuda, but you may be surprised at what you do get. One I got was

http://www.vda.virginia.gov/Caregiver%20Bibliography.pdf

     The books on caregiving on the above list sound excellent, but they all cost something. (That’s the Commonwealth of Virginia all over; they aren’t given to freebies.) I’d suggest you print out the list and take it to your local library. The librarian can get the ones you select through inter-library loans – and they may have other good materials for you as you struggle onward. You’ll be amazed at the variety of helpful information in a good library.

     You may also find help on the following site, though I found it long on platitudes and short on practicalities:

http://www.eldercare.gov/eldercare/Public/
resources/caregiver.asp

     And last, IF THE ENDLESS PLATITUDES GOT TO YOU, you may want to buy the book, Elder Rage: How to Survive Caring for Aged Parents.

http://www.elderrage.com/

     It’s by someone who has been there and done that, bigtime.