Try to organize right from the start
- The first thing to do is make a list of everyone close to the person in your care who you know will be part of your core caregiving team.
- Add to the list others who’ve offered to be involved, though be careful about adding anyone you know is irresponsible or chronically late. If the list doesn't seem long enough, think about ways to marshal more help.
- If the patient has a well-organized friend who keeps in close touch with their mutual social network, ask her to let others know that she's sick and that you and the family could use some support.
- Make sure word gets out to any groups or social organizations she belongs to; those can be powerful support networks. Contact her church or synagogue and ask the pastor, the rabbi, or a member of the congregation to solicit help on her behalf. Also, make sure the people spreading the word for you gather lists of names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses, and add these folks to your list as well.
- If possible, use your e-mail program to create an e-mail "group" in your address book that includes all the people in your caregiving support network. If you don't know how to do this, recruit a tech-savvy friend (or a neighbor's kid) to help you. This is a huge time-saver that enables you to send one e-mail to the entire group rather than to each individual.
- Or consider setting up a private Yahoo group with its own calendar. Through this group, you can e-mail everyone at once asking if someone can, say, drive the patient to the doctor on Tuesday at 10 a.m., and whoever's available can sign up on the calendar.
- Once you have a list of names, you're ready to begin communicating the person's needs. (And don't forget, your needs are important, too. If someone can run an errand for you while you're busy caring for the patient, or if you need a break for an evening, that's just as valuable.)
Caring.com is an informational site only. Neither Caring.com nor its partners provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, or legal, financial, or other professional services advice or advice about what service providers to use.
By using our Website, you agree to the
Terms of Use
and
Privacy Policy.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Caring, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Was this useful? Spread the word and help others like you!