Caregiver Burnout

If you are helping a family member or friend over age 50 with things such as dressing, bathing, housework, or taking medicine on a regular basis, then you are a caregiver. You are not alone—there are close to 50 million Americans involved in caregiving. Caregivers spend an average of 20 hours each week caring for one (or more) older adults. About one in four of caregivers have been giving care for more than five years. About three in four caregivers work a paying job and spend up to $5000 out of pocket each year to help with caregiving costs.

Caregivers are at higher risk for symptoms of anxiety and depression because of the burden of these many roles. Their physical health may also suffer. It is normal for caregivers to feel alone and overwhelmed. Caregivers may also feel unable to communicate well with the person receiving care and/or other family members. They also report needing information on how to keep their loved ones safe at home and to find activities to do with them. And caregivers also need resources to help them manage their own stress and make time for themselves.

The following agencies and people can help you find the help you need:

• Eldercare Locator Visit www.eldercare.gov to search for community services by zip code, city or topic. Or call 800-677-1116 to speak with an Information Specialist.
  You can find your local Area Agency on Aging through the Eldercare Locator. Among other things, an Area Agency on Aging caseworker can visit you and your loved one and give you information about different sources for the help you need, how much this help might cost, and how you can get financial assistance.
• Other community Resources Your local United Way and faith-based organizations can also help you find assistance.

• Social workers Social workers at hospitals, clinics, or home health agencies, and specially trained s “geriatric care managers,” can help, too. The National Association of Professional Geriatrics Care Managers can provide more information. (Note: Insurance usually doesn’t cover the cost of geriatric care manager assistance.)

Among other things, these groups and individuals can help you find the following kinds of help:

• Financial – assistance and advice on paying for the services your loved one needs; including assistance completing paper work.
• Transportation – to take your loved one shopping or to and from medical appointments.
• Meals – including help preparing meals or having meals delivered.
• Home nursing services – including visits from Registered Nurses, private duty nurses, nurses aides and hospice.
• Respite care services – which send trained helpers to your loved one’s home so you can take a break.
• Reliable “home helpers” – who can visit your loved one for an hour or two at a time to help with bathing, light housekeeping, cooking, and errands.
• Adult day care – centers where older adults can go for several hours during the day for care supervised by healthcare staff. This care usually includes social programs, recreation and meals. Special adult day care programs are available for people with dementia, depression and social problems

Adapted from " Caregiving for an Older Adult: Stressing and a Blessing  & "Tips for Avoiding Caregiver Burnout"

http://www.healthinaging.org/blog/caregiving-for-an-older-adult-stressing-and-a-blessing-2/

Seed Sewing and Planting?... School gardens are popping up all over Winnebago County!

          Spring is FINALLY here and summer is fast approaching. Not too long ago the ground was frozen and now it is teeming with dandelions. As the school year winds down, we are spending as much time as possible getting students involved with school gardens. Winnebago County Farm2School is partnering with Growing Oshkosh to coordinate gardens at four Oshkosh elementary schools. Two schools, Emmeline Cook and Webster Stanley, had raised beds installed last year. The other two sites, Merrill and Washington Elementary, are this year. A couple of weeks ago students sewed seeds (meaning they planted seeds in small trays) which they are currently tending to in their classroom. They are watching their seeds turn into delicate little plants and in a week or two they will be transplanting their “class pets” into the ground outside. Over the summer Growing Oshkosh will be hosting volunteer garden days at each of the schools so that community members can learn how to garden and harvest the rewards.

Below are pictures from our most recent seed sewing events at Washington and Emmeline Cook:

Why are school gardens important? 

Besides the fact that school gardens are a beneficial use of school lawns; they also cultivate strong social relationships among students and serve as an outdoor learning classroom. Core curriculum subjects like math, science and social studies can be used to measure plant heights, learn about plant parts, and talk about where foods originated from. Students are able to taste fresh food, make healthier choices, and get a little physical activity during the day. Children are more likely to eat food that they plant and harvest. This is significant because 88.4% of Wisconsin adolescents surveyed eat less than the recommended amounts of vegetables (CDC, 2010). We hope that these school gardens will promote the knowledge, attitude, and consumption of fruits and vegetables for our youth.


Are you interested in getting more involved with existing Winnebago County School Gardens? Do you know a school that would be interested in developing one? If so, please contact Sabina Bastias at sbastias@co.winnebago.wi.us.

Another great resource to get plugged in on a statewide level is the Wisconsin School Garden Initiative.

Children's Mental Health

7 Myths About Child Mental Health: 

MYTH 1: A child with a psychiatric disorder is damaged for life. 
A psychiatric disorder is by no means an indication of a child’s potential for future happiness and fulfillment. The most important thing to remember here is that early intervention can be very effective at preventing chronic, debilitating conditions.

MYTH 2: Psychiatric problems result from personal weakness. 
It can be difficult to separate the symptoms of a child’s psychiatric disorder—impulsive behavior, aggressiveness, or extreme shyness, for example—from a child’s character. But a psychiatric disorder is an illness, just like diabetes or leukemia is not a personality type. 

MYTH 3: Psychiatric disorders result from bad parenting. 
While a child’s home environment and relationships with his parents can exacerbate a psychiatric disorder, these things don’t cause the disorder. Parenting isn’t to blame. But parents play a central role in a child’s recovery. They provide support and care that is crucial to their child’s treatment plan and future development.

MYTH 4: A child can manage a psychiatric disorder through willpower.
The key word here is disorder. A disorder is not mild anxiety or a dip in mood. It is severe distress and dysfunction that can affect all areas of a child’s life. A heartbreaking number of parents resist mental health services for their children because they fear the stigma attached to diagnoses or see psychiatrists as pill pushers. This is incredibly sad because kids don’t have the skills and life experience to manage conditions as overwhelming as depression, anxiety, or ADHD. They can benefit profoundly from the right treatment plan, which usually includes a type of behavioral therapy, and have their health and happiness restored.

MYTH 5: Therapy for kids is a waste of time.
Today’s best evidence-based treatment programs for children and teens use a cognitive-behavioral therapy model that focuses on changing the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are causing them serious problems. This is solution-driven therapy, and it’s a key component of some of the most exciting and innovative new treatment plans for kids. 

MYTH 6: Children are overmedicated.
Medication is not the norm. Approximately 20 percent of children and teens in America have psychiatric issues at any one time; only 5 percent of them take medication. We never doubt whether a child with diabetes or a seizure disorder should get medication; we should take psychiatric illness just as seriously. The larger problem is that millions of children who suffer from serious psychiatric problems never receive any help.

MYTH 7: Children grow out of mental health problems.
Most mental health problems left untreated in childhood become more difficult to treat in adulthood. Since we know that most psychiatric disorders emerge before a child’s 14th birthday, we should have huge incentive to screen young people for emotional and behavioral problems. We can then coordinate interventions while a child’s brain is most responsive to change and treatment is more likely to be successful. Left untreated, disorders often lead to substance abuse, difficulties with relationships and work, and brushes with the law.

Adapted from: http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2010-11-8-7-myths-about-child-mental-health

To learn more,  join the conversation at childmind.org/speakup.

May is National Bike Safety Month

One of re:TH!NK's partners is East Central Regional Planning Commission and their regional Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. Rather than me write a whole bunch about what SRTS does, I thought it would be better to hear from one of the principal's at our local elementary schools.

All 5 Winnebago County public school districts participate in SRTS. That means we've got a lot of kids walking and biking to school! Speaking of biking, Bike to School Day is Wednesday May 7. Is your school participating? Find out at National Center for Safe Routes to School website.

And part of Bike Safety Month, the Oshkosh Safe Routes to School Taskforce is hosting two Bike Rodeos open to all community members. 

Jefferson Elementary School on May 15th at 5-7pm

Oaklawn Elementary School on May 22nd at 5-7pm 

Activities for everyone in the family including:

• Hot Dog Dinner
• Bike Locks
• Free Bike Registration
• Bike Safety Course
• Helmet Fitting
• Slushies made using Bike Blenders

The rodeos are a great way to learn a lot about biking in Oshkosh, bike safety, and all other things related to biking (not to mention have a TON of fun). Here's to hoping for sunny, warm weather and we'll see you out there on your bike!