Tips for Being a Special Needs Family Caregiver
Loving someone with disabilities is easy. Being a caregiver to a family member with disabilities is a lot more difficult. There’s the constant worrying about doing the wrong thing on top of all of the demands involved in providing the right care to someone you love.
Foster Independence as Much as Possible
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to the people in their lives with disabilities is to underestimate them. Your family member can do a lot and when you let her do what she’s able to do, that empowers her and builds her independence. Celebrate accomplishments and find ways to help her to be in more situations in which she can build on the skills and the independence she’s already developed.
Learn as Much as You Can
Information is always going to serve you well as a caregiver. Learn as much as you possibly can about your family member’s condition and any other health issues that she has. This knowledge is going to help you to be a far more effective caregiver and make the best possible decisions that you can in every situation. As you learn more, you’re going to be an even more powerful advocate for your family member in so many different situations.
Build a Support System for Yourself
You may feel as if you’re on your own in this situation, but you don’t have to be. By building a support system for yourself, you’re going to be able to lean on that network when you’re not feeling as strong. Your support network might consist of family members, friends, other caregivers, and your family member’s medical team.
Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
When you’re focused on taking care of someone you love, especially someone with a disability, you have to be careful not to forget yourself. Maintaining your own health is a vital part of being a caregiver. You need to remember what you enjoy about life and maintain those interests, relationships, and hobbies. Making room for respite care allows you to step back from being a caregiver on a regular basis.
With the right tools and support, being a caregiver to a family member with disabilities doesn’t become easy, but it also doesn’t drain you and leave you feeling exhausted. Make sure that you’re doing what you can to support both your family member and yourself as you both continue to learn and to grow.
If you are considering respite care in Lawrence, IN, please call the caring staff at RSI Cares. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: 317-471-0750.
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where shewasthe In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
Etelka was honored as a “Health Care Hero” by the Indianapolis Business Journal. The issue can be read online here:
http://mags.ibj.com/activemagazine/welcome/html/ibjhch.html.
After clicking on the link, then click on the image of the issue’s front page. After that, you can browse through the issue or click in a box near the top of your internet browser to adjust the page to 17, which is where Etelka’s article appears.
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