Senior Concerns hosted our annual Caregiver Recognition Day event last week and the theme was “Building Your Care Team.” It got me thinking about how all of us, not just family caregivers, need to think about who is in our Care Team.
A care team is the people and agencies that support you. They are the people who you can ask for help, and who are both capable and available to help. For example, if you suddenly find yourself ill, who can you ask to bring you food? Who can you ask to step in if you need help paying your bills or if you need someone to be your healthcare advocate?
There is a lot of talk about parents raising young children and how they need a “village” of people around to support them. But shouldn’t we all have a village around us to help when needed?
The care team around you can be a combination of friends and family, as well as paid professionals. The paid professionals who support you may include your financial planner, paid caregivers, a geriatric care manager, a handyman, or anyone else you would hire to fill a role in your life to help you live comfortably, safely, and happily.
A recent widow called me to help her think through her care team. Her husband used to be the main person she would rely on. She is still capable and healthy herself but had an incident that made her think about things differently.
The incident was simple, she locked herself out of her house. It was an accident. She was planning to go for a walk and not take her car, so she did not think to grab her keys as she left. Once she realized what she did she called her neighbor who had a set of her keys.
Thankfully, the neighbor works nearby and kindly offered to come bring her the spare key. But this incident shook her up a bit because it was the first thing that happened where she could not call her husband to help her out.
She called me to talk it through and we talked about her care team. She decided to purchase a lock box with a code to keep a spare key outside of her home. She felt this would be useful not just in case she gets locked out again, but also in case she falls and needs the paramedics and cannot get to the door to let them in. She, or her emergency contact, can let them know the code to access her key.
We also talked about who should be her new emergency contact. We discussed her friends who live nearby, who would be most likely available and who can drive at night, if needed. She planned to call and talk to her close friends and let them know she wants to list them. She also plans to share their phone numbers with each other. That way if something happened, , her friends could activate a phone tree with each other to share the responsibilities.
All of us should think about who is in our care team; who is our village to reach out to when needed. We never know when the need will arise, so plan ahead and take some steps to put in place your support system for the future.
Martha Shapiro can be reached at Senior Concerns at 805-497-0189 or by email at mshapiro@seniorconcerns.org.
Q: What is the theme of Older Americans Month this year?
A: Established in 1963, Older Americans Month (OAM) is celebrated every May. Led by a federal agency, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), OAM is a time to recognize older Americans’ contributions, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm commitments to serving the older adults in our communities.
The 2024 theme is Powered by Connection. This theme demonstrates the impact that meaningful relationships and social connections have on our health. The value of being connected in our life helps to support independence and aging in place. It also prevents isolation and loneliness.
Isolation and loneliness in older adults can have a dramatic effect on one’s health both mentally and physically. Studies show it is more dangerous to your health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
This statistic and others like it are really shocking. It makes sense why the theme this year of Older Americans Month is focused on helping spread the message to older adults to create connections in order to foster healthy aging.
It is important to think about your feelings of connectedness and what you see in the people you care about. Think about ways you can grow relationships you have to be meaningful and supportive.
Start by being genuine and curious in your relationships. This may make you feel vulnerable, but it is an important step towards fostering true connections.
Really think about how you want to spend your time. Feeling connected and engaged is not just about filling the time, but about finding purpose, meaning and joy in what you do with your day. Look for groups to join that match your interests.
Get involved in things and find your passion! Again, it’s not about finding things to just fill the time, but about finding things that have meaning to you. Think about what is meaningful to you and what you care about.
Being connected is also about being connected to resources and services so that you have what you need as you age. It is about being connected to emotional support (including groups), as well as to volunteering and helping others.
There tends to be such a focus on independence that we often do not prioritize enough the value of connections, and inter-dependence. But, especially as we age, the value of inter-dependance and finding support from others grows. It is, in fact, what will allow us to maintain the life we want if we can only learn to reach out for support and help from others.
The theme of Older Americans Month this year leads to a very important message to spread about the value of connections on our health, our independence, and our life satisfaction. Help spread the word to those around you to see and prioritize relationships and connections in our day to day lives.
Martha Shapiro can be reached at Senior Concerns at 805-497-0189 or by email at mshapiro@seniorconcerns.org.
