Update: Jane Gross emailed me on the Fourth of July to enthusiastically invite “your readers — direct care workers, supervisors or anyone else” to contribute to her blog. This is a great opportunity to talk to long-term care consumers and family members about the challenges and rewards and importance of direct-care work. Maybe we can raise a little consciousness, even recruit some valuable allies for the quality care through quality jobs movement. — Elise
A new blog by New York Times health writer Jane Gross (pictured) provides a fascinating window into the world of family caregivers, including their thoughts about direct-care workers.
Gross started the blog after she helped her own mother find care and became a magnet for questions from colleagues at the paper who were in the same position. They all felt as overwhelmed as she had when she first encountered the long-term care system, like sailors trying to navigate the ocean in a rudderless boat (okay, so that’s my metaphor, not hers, but you get the idea.)
Having essentially the same conversation over and over made Gross realize how many people share the same questions and concerns, so she started the blog to provide “a source of information and community for grown children faced with these new responsibilities, for the elderly adjusting to unwelcome limitations and dependency, [for] employers interested in easing the burden, for professionals in the field and for anyone else who wants to chime in.”
The New Old Age was launched just two days ago, but by early this afternoon it had well over 600 comments, nearly all which seemed to be from relatives of older adults who need long-term care services.
I just searched for the word “aides” and found a lot of references, most of them to the difficulty of finding a good home care aide or the blessing of encountering caring workers. There were also several vents about aides who are uncaring, too overburdened to respond effectively, or outright abusive.
Looks like a discussion that direct-care workers and those who care about them might want to join from time to time.
Elise Nakhnikian, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org
On July 1st I became a caregiver for my 81 yeaer old sister. I suspect that there are thousands of people out there who are in the same boat.
Wow!! I have been a Care-giver for a long time and most of that time I have had the graditude of most, but there are some that just give you hell all the time. They can’t and won’t do the job, but they expect the aide to give 600% and act like a servant, period and be greatful for being treated like that.
I tell them; “I am an aide, not a maid.” To me that means that I give care to the person first and if the house chores get done they get done, the person comes first. If you want me to do the windows and clean the gutters you pay more or get someone else to do it while I care for the elderly person that they won’t care for. I hate it when they think I’m there to do moving and window cleaning and taking care of their children, dogs, cats and other creatures that don’t belong to the elderly. Or how about entertaining their guests and putting on a dinner for cousins or other siblings? It drives me crazy.
I’m there for their parent or grandparent, not for them!!!