Caregivers can find help managing duties, stress

Claudia Ellano knows more about caregiving than she would like. She spent six years working and also caring for her husband, Moe, who died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

And she is the director of the Orange Caregiver Resource Center, the only Orange County, Calif., agency focusing specifically on the needs of caregivers who are coping with a loved one's chronic illness.

The Caregiver Resource Center (caregiveroc.org) is a program of St. Jude Medical Center and part of a statewide system of Caregiver Resource Centers for people 60-plus. It is financed through county, state and federal agencies.

A chat with Ellano:

Q. Let's talk about the typical help a caregiver can receive from your agency.

A. Well, we have a staff ready to assist with problem-solving resources and support. Just call 800-543-8312. A care coordinator will talk to them about what the caregiver is needing the most — from the community or for themselves.

Q. How do you know what type of needs the loved one has?

A. We don't assess the patient. We are not here to solve problems for the patient. We are strictly here to help the caregiver with an action plan, including proper referrals, how to talk to the doctors, where to go to get assessments. But they have to start with a diagnosis.

Q. This is a rhetorical question, but do caregivers need a lot of help today?

A. We've always known caregiving has an emotional and economic impact. But add the issues of today's economy, people losing their jobs for example, and the impact is huge! We want to be the entry point resource center for caregivers, and we are part of a large partnership of agencies ready to help.

Q. OK. But you and I know money becomes the big problem. Unless the person you are caring for has long-term care insurance, families have to shoulder most of the cost of caregiving.

A. We are woefully lacking in public policy for long-term care in this country. There is an assumption that Medicare pays for senior care, but in fact it only pays for a specific number of days after an acute episode, such as a stroke. If someone needs long-term care in the community, it's pretty much out of their own pocket. Medi-Cal might be able to pay for some help, but we know this is where a lot of the cuts are coming.