Caregiving and Loss: Family Needs, Professional Responses
HFA's Year 2001 Initiative - read the news release
From HFA's 8th annual
National Bereavement Teleconference broadcast -
Message
from Former First Lady, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter:
Thank you for joining us today for this special program. I’d like to commend Jack Gordon and the Hospice Foundation of America for recognizing the crucial role that caregivers play in caring for people near the end of life. And I’d like to commend the local site coordinators for working so hard to bring this important broadcast to your community.
We are approaching a caregiving crisis in America. Thanks to the wonders of medicine and our knowledge about the causes of many health problems, we are living much longer than our ancestors and experiencing the problems of aging.
With more people needing care, there are fewer people available to give it. More women are working than ever before, and families are not as close knit or as large as they once were. Yet family members continue to care for the vast majority of dependent people at home.
Sometimes family caregivers consider their responsibilities a rewarding mission. But for those who have been thrust into the role, it can be an extremely lonely, stressful, and frustrating responsibility, with tasks that are always demanding.
Being a professional caregiver can be quite stressful, too. For many, their work is overwhelming and exhausting.
Caring for a loved one is not an endeavor that should be undertaken alone. To offer the best to their loved ones and still stay strong and healthy, family caregivers need to be surrounded by compassionate, responsive assistance from the professionals who work with them. And these professionals must be willing to listen and respond to their needs. This teleconference presents a unique opportunity to voice family needs and experiences and to hear practical suggestions from some of the best experts in the field on how to improve communication and support.
Caregiving at the end-of-life brings the distinctive responsibility of coping with many kinds of losses. Caregivers begin mourning while still helping their loved ones live their final days to the fullest. Grief absorbs immense energy.
Hospice offers a unique and vital level of support for family caregivers during the end-of-life period, providing compassionate service at many levels – medically, emotionally, and spiritually. And the hospice philosophy embodies the concept of continued support for the bereaved after the death.
It is fitting that the Hospice Foundation of America has chosen to focus on family needs and professional responses. We must all recognize and celebrate the crucial role of family caregivers in our society and empower professionals to respond with increased awareness, compassion, and support.
© 2001 Hospice Foundation of America
Please contact HFA at lveglahn@hospicefoundation.org for permission to re-print this article.
