11-27-2024 Primetime Living - Flipbook - Page 15
A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, November 27, 2024 15
Family caregiver, continued from page 13
to assist people in economic need, provide preventive services, and protect
vulnerable children and adults in each
of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore
City,” according to its website.
Because this grant bridges age
groups, it does not plan to focus exclusively on older Marylanders, though that
is certainly the expertise and focus MDoA
is bringing to the table.
“We have additional goals,” Roques
adds. “There should be paid family care
leave. The law was passed but with no
funding. And aging in place is extremely
important. That’s why we will need to get
money into the hands of caregivers and,
at the same time, focus on the whole picture so they can access what they need.
There are support groups, but we have
to ensure the Maryland Commission on
Caregiving is also supporting them. That
means a big push on emotional support, something we know has a positive impact and alleviates some of the
stress.”
Support and More
Support around the state is by jurisdiction and there are lots of support
groups outside what the state has.
Alzheimer’s, AARP, hospitals, and all the
addiction programs such as AA and
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have regular
meetings that will partner with MDOA to
reach the population that needs assistance. “We would like to have a single
source to pull together all these support
groups,” says Ray. “There may be a deficit in outlying areas; however, we may be
able to access them other ways. The one
thing we’ve learned is that caregivers do
better with support groups.”
This is an ongoing project, one that
becomes increasingly complex as the
team at the Maryland Department of
Aging researches responsibilities family
caregivers take on, such as kinship care,
those who are not blood relatives but
are still family, and LGBTQ+ care where
they are family by choice. One emerging issue is what is involved when the
person needing care is far away. That
distance can be a problem and involve
either travel or substitutes. Sometimes,
it means learning different systems when
you cross state lines.
After speaking with those directly
involved in this project, you can be sure
they take their responsibilities seriously
and with empathy for what these people
go through. At some point, most of us
become caregivers. It is to our benefit
that MDOA has people who want to support us.
Caregiving thoughts,
continued from page 13
wants to appear to be, the aging
loved one is not a child, but it’s a
whole different set of responsibilities
to take care of older adults.”
It’s a game of push-pull. As my
mother reached her mid-80s, I took
over her health care, going with her
to all her medical appointments.
I couldn’t tell who frustrated me
more, her doctor or her. The doctor would ask, “How are you?” And
she’d reply, “Fine.” “No, you’re not,”
I chimed in, listing the latest concerns. Because there were four of
us kids, we could take on different aspects of her care. When we
got frustrated, we talked with each
other, because we understood and
shared the stress and strain of caring for her.
This is typical of caregivers.
However, if the burden falls on one
person, the need for respite care
increases – and it is very hard to find.
They are coping with all the needs of
the relative plus, often, kids, spouse
and personal well-being.
Unlike in my situation, Wise says
when more siblings are involved, the
less actual sharing goes on, which
leads to burn-out. There is infighting, egos, and, sadly, some of the
family is waiting for the person to die
and split up the assets.
Wise is, indeed, wise. Contact
her for a free assessment of the
residence where your relative is living and other services she provides.
She truly cares about older adults
and wants their lives to be as easy
and fulfilling as possible.
Give your loved ones
the greatest gift -
Peace of mind and a
plan for a secure future.
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Assisted Living
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410-992-1241 | vantagepointresidences.org
5400 Vantage Point Road, Columbia, MD 21044
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