Receive a copy of our free information kit: "When a Parent Needs Help: How to put together an elder care plan that makes sense for you and your family"

Send an e-mail with your postal address and we'll send you this up to date collection of articles, brochures and caregiver guides on a wide range of eldercare related topics. 

Other websites on caregiving

• Children of Aging Parents (CAPS)
• Caring.com
• Family Caregiver Alliance – National Center on Caregiving
• National Family Caregivers Association
• Caregiving.com

• Guidelines for Caregivers, by Suzanna Smith and Jennifer E. Gove, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida
  
• Aging Parents: Helping When Health Fails, (PDF) by V.L . Schmall and Sally Bowman, Oregon State University
  
• The Emotional Aspects of Caregiving (PDF) by the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services

Siblings and Caregiving

Caring for parents can also affect relationships between your brothers and sisters. For some, the experience of caring for parents can bring together siblings who have lost contact and strengthen family ties. For others, caring for parents can bring out old rivalries, or reinforce old communication problems.

• Caregiving and sibling relationships: challenges and opportunities

When Care Services are Needed

This website has several links to help. Learn more about:

• What you need to know to get started finding care services
• Care that can be provided in your parent’s home
• Other residential care housing if they can no longer live at home.
• Legal planning and advance directives
• Finding other benefits your parents may have

Sacrifices made by those caring for elderly parents

50% spent more than 10% of their annual income in care giving expenses, on average

37% quit their job or reduced their hours

47% cut back on vacations.

38% are saving less or not at all for their children's future

34% are using their savings

32% have provided caregiving for more than five years

27% are cutting back on basics, including clothing, utilities and transportation

23% are cutting back on personal medical or dental expenses

SOURCE: Evercare and the National Alliance for Caregiving

Professional Geriatric Care Managers (PGCMs) are health and human services specialists who help families care for older relatives, while encouraging as much independence as possible.

The PGCM may be trained in any of a number of fields related to long-term care, including, but not limited to, nursing, gerontology, social work, or psychology, with a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care. The PGCM acts as a guide and advocate -- identifying problems and offering solutions, from assessment of an aging parent's needs to addressing the life change of a family affected by Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinsons or other symptoms of dementia.

If you are interested in finding a Professional Geriatric Care Manager to assist in creating a plan of care for someone you know, please click here to “Find a Care Manager.”

If you are interested in learning more about the profession of geriatric care management or the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, please click here for “Learn More About Geriatric Care Management.”

And, if these pages do not answer all your questions, we encourage you to contact us.