Dear Friends,
Caring for your aging parent is one of the most loving gifts you can give—and perhaps one of the most difficult jobs you’ll ever have.
I know.
From first-hand experience.
I’m one of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders in recent years who have taken on the tasks of caring or finding care for an older relative or friend.
My three brothers and I took care of our mom, a brave and remarkable woman who successfully aged in place before eventually succumbing to Alzheimer’s.
We went through practically every phase of caregiving: helping our mother stay safe and independent for as long as possible; then managing the complex process of long-term care legal and financial planning, overseeing a wide variety of services as Mom became increasingly frail, from choosing home care aides and adult day care programs, to overseeing doctors’ visits, wound care and sub-acute rehabilitation services, physical therapy and other in-home health-care providers; and finally, engaging hospice care.
Every family’s caregiving journey is different—but practically everyone can tell you their saga of challenges and crises. Many adult children are wedged in the “sandwich generation”—holding down jobs while trying to manage the care of both elderly parents and their own children. They’ve told me that what they need most is a practical guide about what reliable resources are available to help them, especially during times of extreme stress and uncertainty. They need a strategic “roadmap” to help them navigate through the maze of care options.
This guide is intended to do just that—to empower you, the family member, in deciding how best to care for your loved ones. Long Islanders deserve up-to-date information about resources across the nation, but especially those close to home. This guide is organized in five parts to help you focus on the most critical issues at each stage of caregiving:
Supporting family caregiving is part of my broader work, promoting intergenerational activities that help older and younger generations learn from each other and honor what each has to offer. We all need to be engaged in caregiving. Indeed, when we discover better ways to provide care for our aging parents and friends, we are also forging new paths of care for our future selves.
Sincerely,
Ron Roel
President, Roel Resources