When Short Term Caregiving Becomes Ongoing

Changes in Caregiving Timelines

So many family caregivers take on the task of caring for a loved one for what they believe will be limited periods of time. In some cases, this is all that is required. However, there are many more cases of caregiving where that time line expands; sometimes further beyond what was anticipated. Caregiving then, due to circumstances such as economics and availability of assistance from other sources, becomes ongoing. At that point it’s important to take stock of how to address the shift now that conditions have changed.

Ongoing caregiving requires a different approach to how quality of care is provided. According to “Chronic or Oongoing Care” an excellent online article in the Caregivers Library, there are questions and guidelines for caregivers to consider that could help them determine how to procced ahead.

Caregivers who become care providers one task at a time or as a result of an event or crisis, may not have been prepared for the role. Taking time to evaluate what caretaking responsibilities will be required for longer term assistance can be the start of securing needed resources.

If you can benefit from additional help, then consider these basic questions: What community resources are there? Do you know about volunteer and city or state funded programs that could provide at home help or offer respite opportunities, such as day care facilities? What can professional home health services provide?

Because caregivers can become isolated it is important to see who else can be of support. Can you enlist the help of family and friends to provide meals, mini-breaks or just caring, supportive conversation?

Other topics to explore including future needs should caregiving tasks expand. The needs can include a change in lifestyle for you as well as living arrangements for you and your loved one, increased medications, and, where appropriate, financial or legal aid.

It has been often said, that you don’t know what you don’t know until you need to know. So, if your caregiving role has grown, I hope you can put effort into addressing some of the more common issues, like those mentioned here, that you may face.

I encourage you to read the complete online article for more information. Click here.

J. Dietrich Stroeh is author of Three Months: A Caregiver’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing (FolkHeart Press) and three free ebooks. For more information, click here.