Newspaper Page Text
Page 8A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, November 17, 2021
To Your Health
November is National
Caregivers Month
National Caregivers
Month is officially cel
ebrated in November, but
A Mother’s Rest (AMR)
caregivers are celebrated
year-round through
affordable, three-night
respite weekends at B&B
inn locations nationwide.
Parents and caregivers
who have loved ones
with disabilities and/or
chronic illness enjoy a
beautiful, peaceful, sanc
tuary, away from their
daily responsibilities
where they can achieve
recuperative rest, decom
pression, and therapeutic
fellowship with other
caregivers who under
stand their life chal
lenges. Historic Lawton
Place Manor serves as
AMR’s second year-round
respite inn location and
is already fully booked
each weekend through
September 2022.
“We are honored to
preserve this treasured
piece of Mt. Airy’s histo
ry, and excited to share it
with parents and caregiv
ers all over the Southeast
region,” Founder Andrea
Faris Roberts notes.
The benefits of pro
active self care have
been long overlooked in
the disability commu
nity. Acknowledging the
emotional and physi
cal strains parents and
caregivers face is impera
tive in ensuring the best
long term care to their
loved ones. As a 501c3
non-profit registered in
the state of Georgia, A
Mother’s Rest functions
entirely on the generos
ity of private donors and
community support.
AMR hosts moms/
women, dads/men, and
couples retreats. Par
ents of children with
disabilities and chronic
illness, all adoptive and
foster parents, spouses
of wounded veterans,
special educators, and
those caring for their own
aging parents are eligible
to attend. AMR retreats
are completely free-style,
without scheduled activi
ties or programming and
rely entirely on donations
from private individuals,
churches, businesses,
and foundations to pro
vide these critical health
services to caregivers.
SPECIAL PHOTO
November is National Caregivers Month and A Mother’s Rest gives caregivers a chance to have
a peaceful breakthrough booking affordable bed and breakfast locations across the nation.
How to balance caregiving and working
SPECIAL PHOTO
For many caregivers, balancing their work and personal lives with providing care for some
one in need can be challenging.
SPECIAL PHOTO
Many patients
may not be able
to return to life
as usual after
incidents that put
them in emergen
cy care units. Post
intensive care
syndrome can last
for weeks or even
years and affect
patients in many
different ways,
including mentally
and physically.
Post-intensive care syndrome
can last after patients leave ICU
Even though thou
sands of trained profes
sionals play vital roles
in the care of the aging
population, many of the
unsung heroes of long
term care are the unpaid
or informal caregivers
who step in to provide
assistance to someone
they love.
A 2019 study pub
lished in the journal
Geriatric Nursing found
approximately 16.6
percent of the United
States population age 18
and older self-identify as
informal caregivers who
provide care for adults
with health conditions
and disabilities.
Assistance needs
range from “old age”
care requirements for
Alzheimer’s disease and
related dementias to
impaired mobility as
sistance.
Furthermore, Assist
ing Hands Home Care
says roughly six in 10
family caregivers also
work full- or part-time.
While it can be a
noble effort to step in
and provide care to a
friend or family member,
caregiving can be time-
consuming and emo
tionally and physically
demanding, particularly
for those who also are
balancing careers and
families. The Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention indicates
that while some aspects
of caregiving can be
rewarding, caregivers
may be at increased
risk for negative health
consequences, such as
depression and difficulty
maintaining healthy
lifestyles. These effects
may be exacerbated by
stresses at work.
The challenges of
managing caregiving and
a career can be challeng
ing, but it’s not impos
sible to perform both
roles successfully.
• Use company assis
tance or benefits. Some
companies have policies
in place that enable a
person to handle certain
aspects of caregiving
more effectively. These
can include unpaid Fam
ily and Medical Leave
Act leave, employee
assistance counseling
programs, flex time, and
even telecommuting ca
pabilities to coordinate
work around caregiving.
• Speak with your
employer. Employees
should be honest with
their human resources
departments or supervi
sors about their roles
as caregivers. Honest
communication can help
the employers under
stand the situations
and perhaps find work
arounds that will satisfy
all needs.
• Get organized. Cre
ate a shareable family
calendar so that every
one stays up-to-date
about caregiving sched
ules, family appoint
ments, work responsibil
ities, and other pertinent
events. Seeing responsi
bilities spelled out can
help all parties involved
divide time accordingly.
• Develop a safety
net. Reach out to trust
ed friends or reliable
neighbors who can step
in during emergencies
when work schedules
cannot immediately be
adjusted.
• Practice self-care.
Self-care is crucial to
ensuring a person has
the energy to provide
quality care to a loved
one while simultane
ously navigating his or
her career. Take breaks
as needed.
• Consider profes
sional care services.
Relying on a home care
agency or a skilled
nursing facility can be a
solution when a person
needs to simultaneously
work and care for a
family member. Individu
als also can look into
respite care, which is a
temporary care situation
that enables informal
caregivers to get a break
for a set time. Respite
care is offered through
various assisted living
facilities.
Informal caregivers
can explore various tips
for balancing careers
with caregiving.
According to the
Cleveland Clinic, anyone
who survives a critical
illness that warranted
admission to an intensive
care unit may be suscep
tible to a condition called
post-intensive care syn
drome, or PICS. PICS is a
series of physical, mental
and emotional symp
toms that persist after a
patient leaves the ICU.
Medical professionals
have recently begun to
delve further into track
ing patients and their
recoveries, especially
long-term outcomes of
survivors of critical ill
nesses. The Cleveland
Clinic says that, even as
the rate of ICU survival
has improved, patients
do not always return to
their previous levels of
function, noting it can
take anywhere from
weeks to even years to
get back to normal.
The Society of Critical
Care Medicine offers that
PICS symptoms can in
clude thoughts or feelings
that affect emotional well
being and ICU-acquired
muscle weakness. The
SCCM says 33 percent of
patients on ventilators, 50
percent of all patients ad
mitted with severe sepsis
and up to 50 percent of
patients who stay in the
ICU for at least one week
will experience PICS.
Some may have memo
ry issues, trouble solving
problems, issues speak
ing, and difficulties work
ing on complex tasks.
Anywhere from 30 to 80
percent of those who
have been in the ICU may
experience these kinds
of problems. The health
resource After the ICU
states PICS can contribute
to mental health issues,
including anxiety, depres
sion, post-traumatic stress
disorder, and nightmares/
trouble sleeping.
Health professionals
believe that PICS occurs
due to the intense, often
stressful level of treat
ment in the ICU. The
Cleveland Clinic says
the use of life-sustaining
equipment as well as
medicines geared toward
managing pain that can
cause sedation or other
mind-altering effects may
result in PICS. Doctors
will use various cognitive
impairment screening
tests and physical diag
noses to uncover any
physical, mental and cog
nitive issues associated
with PICS. Individuals or
caregivers who recog
nize symptoms should
discuss them with their
physicians.
SHEPHERDCARE
H O i P I C E
Contact:
Meredith Smith
Director of
Marketing
678-603-1321
CARE" it s not just our name, it's our lifestyle!
GRIFFIN OFFICE:
150IB Kalamazoo Dr., Griffin, GA 30224
THOM ASTON OFFICE:
201 N. Church St., Thomaston, GA 30286
We service all surrounding counties to each office.
www.ShepherdCareGA.com
SEE YOUR AD HERE:
CALL 770-567-3446
City Pharmacy
Of Zebulon
460 Thomaston St, Zebulon, GA 30295
d 770-567-8844
Monday - Friday 8:30am-6pm
Saturday 8:30am-1 2:30pm
Sunday CLOSED