Celebrating & Supporting Caregivers

The caregivers in our community are important – and deserve to be celebrated by us all. They don’t stand up after every long day and say “ta-da” – but they certainly could. Caregivers provide an astonishing array of services across an almost unlimited range of needs. They help many individuals remain more independent by providing smaller degrees of assistance. At the other end of the spectrum, they bring a warm heart and critical skills into very difficult situations where all hope has been otherwise erased for individuals and families facing the crushing array of losses that life can bring to us.
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A recent study examined supports that family caregivers deemed important for them to maintain their own wellbeing. It showed women are more often caregivers (60%) and that caregivers have more chronic health conditions than their non-caregiving peers. Caregiver supports that they deemed valuable include:

• Telemedicine, web portals, and house calls.
• Access to ongoing education and other caregiver resources. One in five reported they no support or hardly any support that they needed to provide ongoing care.
• Better access to health services for their own health care, including in-home services.

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ASI’s website provides information on our support programs and a wide variety of resources for wellness and aging, including caregiver resource information. One aspect of ASI’s programs that support community caregivers is our Medical Alert Monitoring. This program provides essential material aid for monitor units and fees to consumers and their families for greater assurance of security in case of emergency. Our Meals on Wheels program also supports caregivers locally.

If you or someone you know needs a medical monitoring device or Meals on Wheels services, you can contact us at ASI to find out more. Our site also provides information about other ASI programs in Archuleta County and contact information for making reservations at The Community Café for take-out and for Meals on Wheels.