It’s Really 17
I counted 15 Caregiving Systems in September. Last Sunday, I realized I missed two.
When we care for and help a family member, we manage, navigate and advocate within 17 Caregiving Systems.
17:
Climate | Community | Education | Family | Financial | Health Care | Legal | Medical | Narcissism | Nervous | Payer | Provider | Relationship | Social | Spiritual | Technology | Workplace
In the video, below, I share an example of how this shows up for us. I was waiting to hear if my dad’s home health provider (Community) would be able to continue to provide services for my dad (Payer/Medicare) so that his home health nurse would provide his necessary care on Friday (Medical). My sister, who helps my dad on Fridays, needed to be out of town (Family). We did what we could to assure my dad that I would help if the benefits wouldn’t extend (Nervous). I waited to reconfigure my work day on Friday if I needed to provide care (Workplace).
A personal caregiving experience is hard because it’s so complicated and complex. We need experts who understand the impact of these systems to help us manage, navigate and advocate within these 17 Caregiving Systems.
We need a Certified Caregiving Consultant, an individual with a personal caregiving experience who invests in delivering the best tools and strategies to provide the compassionate support. If you’d like to connect to a CCC, please reach out. I’d love to connect you so you can receive a free 30-minute consult.
Which systems are you currently navigating? Which systems are most difficult to navigate?
(The update: Home health benefits for my dad will continue because he has a wound on his head (ugh!) that’s healing slowly. My dad worried about benefits ending in part because he has formed a wonderful friendship with his nurse. He just loves her. The system doesn’t take into account the emotional impact when services end. We miss the care. We often also miss the care provider.)
Thank you for this, Denise. I am in the process of trying to document what I do and the impact(s) it's had on me and my capacity to engage with friends and work.... because (get this...) someone is about to ask. That someone is an insurance company and how sad is that? I want to have the best, most robust, answer I can give so that they better understand how I have been impacted and how other caregivers have been impacted as well.
I like the concept of the caregiver navigating the stormy waters of the systems to provide care. They are also the systems we have to navigate through life. Throughout the 11 years I have owned my home care agency, I have worked with family caregivers as they struggle with all of these systems. I never leave a request for help with out a referral (or an assessment). Sometimes I am able to refer them to someone that can help with the issue at hand (a lawyer for estate planning, In Home Supportive Services for those on Medi-Cal that can't afford my services, the county Area Agency on Aging, etc. ).
I would define the systems a little differently, but the framework is helpful for caregivers to think about their new role as they face all of these systems.
Thanks.