NEKCOA Honors November as National Family Caregivers Month

National Family Caregivers Month, celebrated each November, is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers in the Northeast Kingdom and across the country.

“Celebrating family caregivers during November enables all of us to raise awareness of family caregiver issues, celebrate the efforts of family caregivers, educate family caregivers about supportive resources, and increase support for family caregivers,” said Meg Burmeister, Executive Director of the NEKCOA.

The Council supports family caregivers with a number of resources and classes aimed to reduce the stresses and challenges of caregiving. Every month, there are two support groups for grandparents taking care of children and for caregivers of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. In addition, classes are provided regularly that support caregivers: Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a six week class for family caregivers to help reduce guilt and stress, anger, and/or depression, and increase confidence. Managing Stress is a one-evening workshop based upon Powerful Tools for Caregivers to help caregivers manage the daily stresses and challenges faced as a caregiver and Effective Communications Strategies is a two-hour education program developed by the Alzheimer's Association. Participants learn how to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone with Alzheimer's or dementia and identify strategies to help them connect and communicate at every stage of the disease.

Pam Smith, the Council’s Director of Client & Caregiver Team Support, who leads the above mentioned classes, was recently named a Master Trainer for Powerful Tools for Caregivers, the national program sustained by extensive collaborations with community-based organizations that provides training and support to family caregivers.

“Family caregivers can face a significant number of challenges, and these challenges can increase to a level that may affect the relationship with the person they are caring for,” said Smith. “Every caregiving relationship is unique and we are testing a new program, called TCARE® that helps to assess key factors with caregivers to monitor these relationships over time and provide the support they may need as they change.”

The NEK Council on Aging is the first in the state of Vermont to test TCARE, described as an assessment tool for the caregiver that categorizes different levels of stress or burden, consequences of not dealing with the stress, and strategies to reduce it. Until TCARE, there were no formal means to monitor the health and welfare of the caregiver.

Caregiver Carol Roy of Norton, who is taking care of her mother, was recently assessed by Smith using the TCARE program. “I recommend TCARE. The assessment tool went very smooth and helped me understand where I was in my caregiving journey. It was comforting to know I am on the right track for providing the best care I can for my mom.”

“Caregiving experiences are just as unique as the people involved. The caregiving role unfolds over time as the caregiver takes on greater responsibility--helping with everyday household affairs, personal care, and decisions,” said Smith. “The Council is being proactive in how we can support caregivers as they journey through this experience. We encourage caregivers to reach out to the Council to obtain the key support and services they need.”