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LifeCare® Helps Family Caregivers Recognize
the Warning Signs of Burnout
WESTPORT, Conn., November 3, 2005 – In light of November's
designation as National Family Caregivers Month and National Alzheimer's Disease
Month, LifeCare®, Inc., one of the nation's leading providers
of life management services, would like to help millions of unpaid family caregivers
across the country avoid an all-too-common peril—caregiver burnout. Simply
put, caregiver burnout is a state of physical, mental or emotional exhaustion
caused by one's caregiving duties, and it affects most caregivers at one time
or another. The first critical step toward avoiding burnout when caring for
a spouse, child with special needs, parent, or other loved one, LifeCare counsels,
is to recognize its warning signs. These include:
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Withdrawal from other family members and close friends;
refusing invitations to dinner, parties, a night out, etc.; staying home
much of the time.
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Giving up favorite pastimes and hobbies.
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Feeling irritable, helpless or depressed; crying
suddenly and/or for no apparent reason.
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Getting angry or frustrated more easily/quickly;
taking out frustrations on others.
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Gaining or losing a significant amount of weight.
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Trouble sleeping; feeling exhausted even after a
good night's sleep.
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Getting ill more often than usual.
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Suffering from chronic health issues (headaches,
digestive problems, etc.). |
“It's imperative that caregivers continually evaluate their
own health status and needs,” says LifeCare co-founder and CEO, Peter G. Burki.
“If they find they're experiencing one or more of these warning signs, they
should seek professional help immediately from their physician or employer support
programs such as a work/life or EAP program.”
More and more employers, health plans, insurance programs and
other membership organizations recognize how many of their constituents are
caregivers and are offering tailored benefits such as LifeCare's caregiving
services as a result. LifeCare's specialists are available 24/7 by telephone
and a private web site to provide counseling, education and referrals tailored
to members' specific needs, notes Burki. For example, LifeCare helps caregivers
find respite services, in-home services, caregiving-oriented legal and financial
services, and a host of other helpful resources designed specifically for caregivers
and their loved ones.
Higher Risk for Alzheimer's Caregivers
Caregiver burnout is especially threatening to the millions
of people who care for Alzheimer's sufferers, Burki says, because these caregivers
typically have to provide more intensive types of personal care—bathing,
feeding and dealing with incontinence, for example. This can easily take its
toll, physically and emotionally. In fact, according to the Alzheimer's Association,
more than 80 percent of Alzheimer caregivers report that they frequently experience
high levels of stress and nearly half say they suffer from depression.
Studies show that, despite their heavy burdens, 47 percent
of Alzheimer's caregivers have used no paid help in past 12 months to fulfill
their caregiving duties. Burki believes this is cause for concern. “It's important
to remember that most of these people hold down regular jobs in addition to
caring for their loved ones,” he says. “So when they're hit by burnout, it's
a triple threat—their work can suffer, their personal or family life can
suffer, and the quality of their caregiving can slip.”
Indeed, the same is true for all
caregivers. Burki suggests that they should consider turning to professional
geriatric care managers (GCM) for assistance, preferably before burnout occurs.
GCMs are often professional nurses and social workers who are trained in assessment,
care planning and care management of older adults, and they provide a number
of services that can greatly reduce the stress that caregivers feel and help
them avoid burnout altogether. Some of these services include: in-person assessments
of an elder's home and daily living activities; creation of customized ongoing
care plans; care facility evaluations to report on the environment, care, staffing,
and overall level of quality; ongoing care coordination (bill paying, care appointment
coordination, setting up community services, etc.).
In an online poll that LifeCare conducted among its members
in late 2004, 82 percent of respondents said that they have an older loved one
who could benefit from the hands-on assistance of a Professional Geriatric Care
Manager (PGCM) within the next year. “That's a number that mustn't be ignored,”
Burki states. “For the nation's employers, in particular, it can be extremely
wise to offer employees access to a geriatric care management program that addresses
all of these issues and needs. These programs can keep employee caregivers from
leaving early, arriving late or missing work altogether to attend to their caregiving
duties. And it can keep employees from falling victim to caregiver burnout,
which can cause expensive health problems that impact the employer's bottom
line.”
LifeCare's Professional Geriatric Care Management Program received
the 2005 Caregiver Friendly award for Excellence in Service from Today's
Caregiver magazine.
Notes to Editors
Peter G. Burki is available for interview.
About LifeCare®, Inc.
With 22 years of experience in delivering highly
personalized counseling, education and referral services, LifeCare helps
people manage the day-to-day challenges of their lives and plan for their futures
more effectively. From child care and parenting needs … to elder care and
aging
challenges … to personal health concerns … and far beyond …
we provide high-quality tools and information 24/7 through our professionally
staffed call center and award-winning web site. LifeCare currently serves 1,500
client companies with 4.5 million individuals within health plans, governmental
agencies, unions and corporations. For more information, visit www.lifecare.com.
Media contact: Michael Civiello
LifeCare, Inc.
pr1@lifecare.com
203-291-4170
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