Caring for an aging loved one can be complex, time-consuming, and overwhelming. Today, more than one in six employees are caring for an aging loved one—and 70% say that caregiving responsibilities distract them from work. This can include coming in late, leaving early, missing days of work, and in some cases, even quitting their job altogether to care for their loved one.
Fortunately, employers can help. Care Specialists is an employer-sponsored benefit that provides 24/7 access to Senior Care Advisors who provide 1:1 dedicated support to help employees manage even the most complex senior care needs.
How Care Specialists Helped a Family Cope with an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
Jill McNamara, a master’s level social worker with over a decade of experience at Care, has helped hundreds of families over the years, but one case is particularly memorable to her. She received a call from an employee whose father was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 61. This employee was also raising young children, and was suddenly thrown into a care situation that was completely foreign to her. The employee turned to her Care Specialist benefit for help.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Jill helped this employee cope with the diagnosis and provided step-by-step guidance as the disease progressed, including:
- Information and resources to educate the family on the disease and what to expect
- Care options such as in-home care, long-term care, and memory care–as well as guidance on how to evaluate options.
- Cost of care, including types of insurance accepted and payment options.
- Caregiving tips and strategies to help the family manage care as the father started to exhibit new behaviors and a decline in health
Care Navigation for Related Needs
Since caregiving tends to affect all aspects of family life, Jill also reminded the employee of related benefits available available from her employer including:
- Child care, including 1:1 support from Care Specialists who can help families find daycare, nannies, au-pairs, tutors, and related parenting needs.
- Emotional and mental health resources to help the employee cope with caregiver stress that is very common with diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
With every touchpoint, Jill provided compassionate and comprehensive guidance—and saved this employee hours of time and research so the employee could not only care for her dad, but also focus on other important work and family priorities
Complex senior care needs such as this affect thousands of workers every day, but with employer-sponsored benefits such as Care Specialists, employees have the support they need to better care for loved ones while continuing to stay focused at home and at work.
