Four Issues for Caregivers of Someone with Developmental Disabilities
Taking care of and loving a family member with developmental disabilities may not be something you’ve ever questioned, but there are undoubtedly challenges that caregivers face. You can find solutions for many of these challenges you face, both now and in the future.
Caregiving Can Be Emotionally and Mentally Taxing for Caregivers
Being a caregiver is challenging, both on a mental and an emotional level. Depending on the types of developmental disabilities your family member faces, you may find that you’re spending a lot of time guessing about what she needs or wants. That stress can add up over time.
There Can Be Physical Challenges, Too
But there’s more. Your family member may have mobility issues that require assistance. If you’re helping your family member to move and bending and lifting often, you may find that your own physical health takes a bit of a beating. It helps to have a plan in place for making sure that you’re in the best physical condition you can be to face these challenges. If you’re not able to do that, it’s vital that you have help in place who can assist.
Caregivers and Family Members Can Become Isolated Easily
Caregivers and people with developmental disabilities can find themselves suddenly isolated and feeling lonely. Simple solutions can help with this, but they can feel impossible if you’re running short on time or energy. Reaching out to friends and to other family members can help, as can joining a support group. You may also want to consider putting solutions in place that help your family member to make friends and develop relationships, too.
The Future Can Sometimes Feel Really Scary
The big problem to caregiving for someone with developmental disabilities is that the future can be a scary thing indeed. Working with residential habilitation services, or RHS, can be a huge help with this fear of the future. RHS helps your family member to learn daily skills that will help her to meet certain goals that you and she find important for her. These might be things like helping her to learn how to get dressed on her own or how to cook simple meals for herself. Getting a handle on those skills now can help you to feel more comfortable about how the future might go for her.
Being there for your family member is the most important part and if you’re not taking care of yourself, you may find yourself facing burnout. Find solutions wherever you can and let those solutions go to work for you and your family member as much as possible.
If you are considering residential habilitation in Greenwood, 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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